Looking for Alaska

Looking for Alaska

John Green

Pudge (Miles) has always led a non eventful life, until his last year of  high school when he chooses to go to Culver Creek Boarding School. With his obsession with famous last words and his lanky skinny body that earns him the ironic nickname Pudge, he becomes friends with his roommate The Colonel and while seeking the 'Great Perhaps' he finds it unexpectedly in the form of the beautiful Alaska Young.

Adoration for this book is an understatement. It's hard to believe this is John Green's first novel, especially if you've read some of his more recent works. This coming of age story has elements of Catcher in the Rye, but is in it's own category for the teen of today (watch out, there's swearing!). All characters have their own quirk and geekness about them. Pudge loves famous last words, The Colonel loves strategies and is a real mastermind and Alaska, well, Alaska is the very cool and unpredictable mysterious girl that captures the heart of Pudge. Oh yeah, and she loves collecting books:

"Have you really read all those books in your rooms?"

Alaska laughing -"Oh God no. I've maybe read a third of 'em. But I'm going to read them all. I call it my Life's Library. Every summer since I was little, I've gone to garage sales and bought all the books that looked interesting. So I always have something to read." -I think we can all relate to that.

A gripping read that captures your heart but not in the romantic sense. The idea of boarding school is always cool and rebellious but this book shows that in reality, it's quite lonely. I suggest reading this book at 16 years of age and then reading it again in your mid 20s. To truly understand a coming of age novel, you need to do exactly that: come of age. Every emotion comes to surface and you really feel for all the characters. You may think that Pudge needs to grow a pair or that The Colonel needs to take a chill pill and that Alaska seriously needs to stop pretending that everything is ok. But I guess that's just all part of Green's "Great Perhaps."

The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner

James Dashner

Thomas wakes up in complete darkness, in a box. When it opens he is "welcomed" by too many boys that he can count, varying from ages 12-17. He can't remember anything but his name. Everyone else seems to be the same. Not one of the boys knows why they are there but they carry on with daily living. Every night the giant doors close between the Maze and the Glade and every night the Runners must make it back before they close. Otherwise they spend the night in the Maze with the Grievers. And NO ONE has made it until morning. This all seems familiar to Thomas until something other than supplies turns up in the box that he arrived in. Or is it someone? 

The first line of the book wasn't even what got me hooked. It was the last line of a note that the publisher included at the beginning: "Thanks James, I didn't want to sleep for a week anyway". I didn't sleep for 3 days straight from pure fear of a Griever haunting my dreams. Every page makes you feel like you are right there next to Thomas as clueless as he is because just like the reader, the characters have no idea what's going on. Definitely not for the faint hearted and some might think of it as a boys club book but girls who like whine-less characters and fast, straight to the point action packed themes, will love it.
The amount of adrenaline that this book generates from it's action scenes is amazing and I found myself looking over the page to see what happens at the end of every chapter as I couldn't wait. I recommend NOT doing that because you'll end up not doing anything with your life until you finish the entire book. It just gets better and better the more you read and it is so well written that you will start to talk like a Glader immediately. You will laugh, you will cry, you will anticipate and you will pee your pants with both excitement and fear. But whatever you do, don't get stung by a Griever.

The Outsiders

The Outsiders

S.E. Hinton

Set in the 50s, the world is divided into two groups. Socs (Socials) and Greasers. Ponyboy is part of the Greasers gang along with his two older brothers Sodapop (the heartbreaker) and Darrel/Darry (the father figure).  His coming of age story begins when he leaves the movie theatre with Paul Newman in mind and gets jumped by a pack of Socs. The next thing Ponyboy is looking at "is Johnny's hand. He was clutching his switchblade, and it was dark to the hilt." 

Short review: I dare you to not carry all of Ponyboy's emotions. I dare you to not see where Darry is coming from and why he's such a hardass. I dare you to not fall in love with Sodapop. I dare you to try and put this book down while reading.

Substantial review: It's hard to imagine that S.E. Hinton was only 15 when she wrote The Outsiders. She writes with such vision and purpose that you feel as if you are involved in every detail of the story. The 50s gave birth to the teenage rebel and all things teen. The Outsiders is all about teenagers. Adults are only mentioned as formidable parents or teachers. Ponyboy is smart and polite but thinks that he needs to toughen up so he can be more like his older brothers and their friends. He likes to read and there are few mentions of other books in here such as Gone with the Wind. He's the one that gets mostly A's in English. This is suitable for 14+ readers boys and girls. Classics have no gender.
Hinton teaches you to think and shows you how others think. The events that take place in Ponyboy's life are not unpredictable but when you experience them through his narrative, they are explosive. Get ready for "movie star handsome good looks", "dangerous moods" and don't forget to comb your thick greasy jet black hair back. And above all else, stay golden.