Looking for Alaska Entry 4

The reason I chose Looking for Alaska to read as my summer reading book is because my friends and older siblings recommended this book and they said it is a really good read and it is what they read when they were in high school. I did not really look at the list for books you could read, I just went with my friends and siblings opinions of how they liked the book and what they thought about it. When I read the summary of what the book was going to be about, Alaska really drew my attention. Alaska is a really awesome character that is very interesting to me and I wanted to read more about her.

I couldn't really connect to the fact that this book to place at a college because i'm only 15 but, I could connect with how close Pudge, Chip, and Alaska were. I have some pretty close friends just like that. If I were to say the closest character that I thought resembled me, I would have to say Pudge. I would recommended this book to anyone that likes reading curious books but fun books at the same time. Anyone that also likes to have that one main character that is always exciting to read about, I would recommend Looking for Alaska.

Looking for Alaska Entry 3

One section of Looking for Alaska that has the intent of hooking a reader is, "Two minutes later we were crouched behind the trees fifty feet from the Eagle's back door. My heart thumped like a techno drumbeat. 'Thirty seconds,' Takumi whispered, and I felt the same spooked nervousness that I had felt that first night with Alaska when she grabbed my hand and whispered run run run run run. But I stayed put.
I thought: We are not close enough.
I thought: He will not hear it.
I thought: He will hear it and be out so fast that we will have no chance.
I thought: Twenty seconds. I was breathing hard and fast.
'Hey, Pudge,' Takumi whispered, 'you can do this, dude. It's just running.'
'Right.' Just running. My knees are good. My lungs are fair. It's just running.
'Five,' he said. 'Four. Three. Two. One. Light it. Light it. Light it.'
It lit with a sizzle that reminded me of every July Fourth with my family. We stood still for a nanosecond, staring at the fuse, making sure it was lit. And now, I thought. Run run run run run." (pg. 104)

The section i thought really hooked in a potential reader was in the before section, and the part where i took this very long quote from was when Alaska and her group of friends were about to pull the barn prank. The reason they were pulling this prank or you could say "pre-prank" was to lull the administration into a false sense of security. The juniors and seniors pull of a prank sometime in the year and with the prank Alaska is doing, they will think the juniors and seniors have already done their prank for the year.

One reason I think that this section of the book can really hook a reader is because it is suspenseful and it also really describes what the characters are thinking when pulling this prank.

Looking for Alaska, Entry 2

The main reason Miles wants to go to Culver Creek Preparatory School is so he can find his "Great Perhaps". Francois Rebelais was a poet that Miles liked. Miles is obsessed with last words and what this poet wrote really clicked with Miles. His last words were, "I go to seek a Great Perhaps. That's why I'm going. So I don't have to wait until I die to start seeking a Great Perhaps." Along the way, Miles makes new friends and enemies and discovers himself. Not only does Miles want his Great Perhaps, he also wants Alaska, this beautiful girl he has a crush on and wants to fall in love with her.

Alaska Young desires to spend most of her time drinking and smoking, and pulling pranks on the rich kids of the boarding school. She wants to be with her friends and Miles.

Some themes that are starting to appear in Looking for Alaska is, heartbreak and love, depression or guilt, and how someones life can effect you in so many ways.

Looking for Alaska has a very weird kind of structure. In Before, the passages act as some kind of countdown to something later that happens in the book. But after the countdown is over and the event has occurred, the book counts up to the end of the story which has a clear climax but is also suspenseful. 

Looking for Alaska, Entry 1

The book I chose to read for my summer reading project that was from the Printz Award Winner list was, Looking for Alaska by John Green. One of the main characters of this book is, Miles “Pudge” Halter. Miles never really seemed to fit in to his hometown. He is a nerdy and unsocial kind of kid that does not have a lot of friends. But later in the book he meets a new group of friends that sort of change his life and becomes a new type of guy.

Another main character of the book Looking for Alaska is, Alaska Young. Alaska is a beautiful girl that Miles, or “Pudge” as they call him, falls in love with. Chip “The Colonel” Martin and Takumi Harihoto are also characters of the book that have fallen in love or have a crush on Alaska as well. Chip and Takumi are friends of Miles.

Miles grew up in Florida and that is where his home is and where he lives. But Miles can’t wait to leave Florida and attend Culver Creek Preparatory School which is located in Birmingham, Alabama. The setting takes place in these places throughout the book.

One of the conflicts of Looking for Alaska would be when Miles and his friends get involved with drugs and alcohol, and even sex. This would be a character vs. nature conflict. One other main conflict throughout the book would be Miles trying to find his new identity. This would be a character vs. self conflict.

One question that I had while reading this book was, will miles truly find a new identity throughout the book and go out of his comfort zone, or will he stay the same person he has always been? I predict that miles will take a look at himself and want a new identity, and I predict he will find one.

Stories

In one of my earlier post I talked about how Matthew Berry had some pretty funnier experiences with him and his friends when they play fantasy football. Well this post is the exact opposite. One of Matthew Berry's friends, Chris, went kayaking with a few of his buddies. When they took a break, he climbed to the top of a 50 foot bridge and jumped of the exact same time as someone else and he landed on Chris. Chris was paralyzed from the neck down. So a few wells have passed and Chris is doing a little better and his fantasy football draft is coming up soon. Chris could still barley move but had some movement of one of his fingers. Fantasy football was a way for Chris to get his mind of things and enjoy time with his friends. Matthew Berry says,   "It's more an example of how sports can provide an outlet to help navigate the worst of life's tribulations." Chris still had a smile on his face even when all this crazy stuff happen to him.

Time Out

What I like about Matthew Berry's writing is that he is very interesting and takes the time to describe things if it is important or if he is trying to get a life. Usually after the end of a chapter, or before a new chapter, he has a few pages about himself or him connecting to his writing ehich he calls "time out". Matthew Berry likes to tell the reader about what is coming up in the next chapter about telling a story that has happened to him in his life, or to just sum up what was in that last chapter that the reader just read. Some of the titles of these "time outs" are called:

Trade advice from My Late, Great Uncle Lester. In this time out, Matthew Berry talks about how big of an impact his great uncle Lester had on him before he died on Febuary 28, 2011.

Picking the Draft Order. This time out takes the time to tell us about hoe BIG draft day is for him and silly ways and funny situations he has gotten into on draft day. "We buy 10 rubber duckies, paint them different colors, and race them. Travis tells me. First place in the duck race gets first pick, second gets second, and so on."

The Best Fantasy Team Names. There are some weird Fantasy Names for any team out there, but her are some that Matthew Berry has encountered in his life.
Football: Kibbles and Vicks, Hakeema Matata, Brady Gaga, I'm bringing Hasselback.
Baseball: Hameltime!, 902Cano, Baby got Bacne, Honey Nut Ichiros, 99 problems but a pitch ain't 1.

.

Engaging Intro and End

I'm about halfway through Fantasy Life by Matthew Berry and the book is pretty good so far. Matthew Berry is good at talking about sports but he also is good at incorporating humor so it's not as boring. If Matthew Berry had a trademark then i would have to say it would be the ellipses. One example of this would be... "Usually those are parishioners..." Now let's try to make this more exciting! So here's a video on Matthew Berry...