Looking for Alaska

The award-winning, genre-defining debut from John Green, the #1 bestselling author of The Anthropocene Reviewed and The Fault in Our Stars
Winner of the Michael L. Printz Award • A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist • A New York Times Bestseller • A USA Today Bestseller • NPR’s Top Ten Best-Ever Teen Novels • TIME magazine’s 100 Best Young Adult Novels of All Time • A PBS Great American Read Selection • Millions of copies sold!
 
First drink. First prank. First friend. First love.

Last words.
 
Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words—and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet François Rabelais called the “Great Perhaps.” Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young, who will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps.

Looking for Alaska brilliantly chronicles the indelible impact one life can have on another. A modern classic, this stunning debut marked #1 bestselling author John Green’s arrival as a groundbreaking new voice in contemporary fiction.

Newly updated edition includes a brand-new Readers' Guide featuring a Q&A with author John Green

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Published Dec 28, 2006

221 pages

Average rating: 7.5

584 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *Looking for Alaska* is a thought-provoking coming-of-age story that resonates with themes of friendship, grief, and self-discovery. Many ...

Oree
Jun 25, 2025
8/10 stars
I wanted to read a book by John Greene since I'm subscribed to his YouTube channel... But this wasn't what I expected. It took me forever because it had a bit of a slow start. I'm used to books with more twists and turns so this was boring to me.
abookwanderer
Oct 09, 2025
8/10 stars
I enjoy books that make you think. And teach you new things along the way. And have memorable characters. Looking for Alaska has all those qualities. I do have to admit, after just finishing a book about a boarding school in Paris, that my first thought upon starting Looking for Alaska was, "Are there really boarding schools in Alabama?" But once I got past that curiosity, the story began to unfold and I was hooked. While this novel is recommended for teens, be aware that it contains very mature subjects that I am hesitant to allow my teens to read at this time.
CheriF
Sep 25, 2025
4/10 stars
I guess my expectations were just too high. I loved the previous two books by Green that I read, [b:The Fault in Our Stars|11870085|The Fault in Our Stars|John Green|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1360206420l/11870085._SY75_.jpg|16827462] and [b:Turtles All the Way Down|35504431|Turtles All the Way Down|John Green|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1503002776l/35504431._SY75_.jpg|21576687] and fully thought I'd feel the same way about this one. I didn't.

Maybe I'm too old... I remember high school and the emotions and drama that went along with it but I didn't care about any of these young people. The protagonist was unlikable to me and struck me as completely self-absorbed and self-centered. I kept waiting for the scene that would turn it all around for me but it never came. In fact, I was mightily tempted several times to just quit but I wanted to be able to check it off of the Great American Read list so I hung in. I'm just glad I'm done.
nicolemarievd
Jul 01, 2025
3/10 stars
Alaska came to except her fate long ago... This was my favorite book for so long. I first read it when I was in middle school. Now, being an adult, I see the true cruel meaning of this story. Poor Alaska, she was gone way before she went "missing". No one truly understood her. No one listened to her, but she also didn't care to be heard anymore.
lexismith
Jun 02, 2025
9/10 stars
made me cry so many times. really good book just got slow a couple of times

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