Looking for Alaska by John Green

This is one of my granddaughter's favorite books, and she wanted me to read it. Since she is reading Great Expectations at my suggestion, it's the least I can do.

When I was 14 years old back in 1957, my teenage crushes were Elvis Presley and James Dean, both of whom had a broodingly sex appeal. For my 14-year-old granddaughter and many like her who proudly proclaim themselves as nerds, the new idols are Benedict Cumberbach, a strange looking fellow who plays super-smart and sarcastic Sherlock Holmes on the BBC series, and John Green, the author of this novel and other Young Adult bestsellers about precociously intelligent teenagers who don't fit into the "popular kid" mold. I think this is an encouraging trend -- smart is the new sexy.

The narrator here is a male teenager who has left the small-town high school where he has no friends to attend a progressive boarding school, seeking a "Great Perhaps." He finds a group of kindred spirits, particularly a moody and reckless girl named Alaska, and together they step over boundaries and explore possibilities. When one of group dies, they are pushed to examine more philosophical questions about life and death.

This is Green's first book, and he went on to write the ultimate in teenage-death novels, the wildly popular The Fault in Our Stars. As an adult, I find him to be a tad melodramatic, but these were not written for adults, and I can see that they do a fine job of introducing young people to the concept of mortality and its implications.

If I had read this book before my granddaughter, I would have advised her to wait a couple of years before reading it because of the inclusion of smoking and drinking and sexual situations. I do not want her to assume that these behaviors are natural and/or desirable for those who are smarter than average. Some teens indulge in risky behavior and come out fine, but some fall down the rabbit hole and never emerge. I'm not sure Green's novels really address that concern. Since she has already read it, I will make it a point to discuss this aspect with her, which is perhaps the best way after all.

Green is an engaging writer, although I do think his books don't quite match up as to content and intellectual rigor. They seem somehow too mature for younger teens and too simplistic for older teens. I would recommend this for no younger than 14.