Miles was a nobody, with no friends and no life and nothing except a passion for famous last words. And then, searching for a "Great Perhaps" (last words, Rabelais) he moves to boarding school in Birmingham. His roomate, Chip, is a dirt-poor genius who lives for pranks. Chip nicknames him Pudge and introduces him to Alaska. Alaska is crazy, beautiful, sexy, funny, amazing, self-destructive, a wonderful disaster looking for a place to happen. She teaches Miles/Pudge to drink, smoke, and prank; in just days, he is head over heels in love with her.
But underneath it all Alaska is truly, deeply unhappy. She's a screwed-up person. The book is divided into two parts, with each chapter labled the number of days "before" or "after" the tragedy that changes Miles forever.
Entertainment: ★★★★★
Wow. Seriously, that's all I can say. Wow.
Plot: ★★★★
Miles' journey is honest and amazing. And although what comes "before" is funny and intense, it's what comes "after" that really makes the book. It's a lot of soul-searching and touchy-feely stuff, which doesn't usually appeal to me, but in this case... it was amazing.
Characters: ★★★★★
Alaska is of course the enigmatic star of the show. She ricochets wildly from funny, fun, and upbeat to angry, crazy, and depressed. There's just a lot of her, and she's a really excellent character. Chip/the Colonel was equally awesome; a trailer-park genius with a Napoleon complex, creative but totally real. And then Miles, the good kid who'd never smoked or broken a rule; his self-discovery was really amazing to read. And the side characters, too, were fully characterized and real. I don't even know what to write about them, seriously, except that they were really, truly awesome.
Writing: ★★★★★
I'll just list some adjectives: light, dark, funny, honest, self-deprecating, open, real. And those five stars up there just about sum it up for me.
End Result: five stars. A really excellent book. Read it.
No comments:
Post a Comment