Looking for Alaska by John Green

Last Words:

• François Rabelais- “I go to seek a Great Perhaps”


• Thomas Edison- “It's very beautiful over there”


• Simon Bolivar- “How will I ever get out of this labyrinth?”


• Someone’s last words can teach us many things about a person, like what they enjoyed, where they wanted to go, what they wanted to do, or what they wanted to learn. In John Green’s Looking for Alaska, Pudge has an obsession for learning and memorizing the last words of famous people.


• Miles Halter is leaving his home in Florida to escape his unpopular, dull life, and goes to Culver Creek Preparatory School in Alabama in search of the “Great Perhaps”. Once there, he befriends his roommate Chip, also known as the Colonel, who gives him the nickname, Pudge. Pudge later meets the Colonel’s best friend, Alaska Young, a gorgeous, wild, moody, and self destructive girl who immediately becomes the object of his affection. He joins their group and becomes involved in their pranks against the Weekday Warriors, and gives into their bad habits such as drinking and smoking. This moving, poignant novel explores Pudge’s journey as he searches for answers, love, friendship, and most importantly the “Great Perhaps”.


• Before I even finished reading the book, I knew Looking for Alaska was going to be one of my favorites. Not only are the characters beautifully drawn and the plot brilliantly conceived, but the story is full of so much substance, making it almost impossible to put down. Looking for Alaska offers some of the most valuable messages and life lessons to readers in a very accessible way. Overall it is passionate, hilarious, and though-provoking.