I chose this picture because the main character Miles loves to read biographies which is something he has in common with his friend Alaska who is another main character in the novel.

Summer Reading Entry 4

     I chose this book because I read a book by the same author last year that I really enjoyed so I figured I would like this book too, which I did. The thing that drew my attention to this book was the fact that one of my friends decided to read it and so I would have someone to discuss the book with and she had also already gotten a few pages in and said it was a good book so I took her word for it. Usually in a book I do have some sort of personal connection to it but that wasn’t the case with this book. I read the requirements before I started reading and as I read the book I tried to look for any sort of connection but I just couldn’t. That doesn’t mean I didn’t like the book because I really did but I just did not find a connection. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a little romance without going overboard. I’ve never been into the whole romantic book thing but when it’s included in the plot without making you drown in it I find it interesting and that is how this book was for me. Overall I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it for anyone who can read.

Summer Reading Entry 3

     I honestly can’t stand books that start off slow because I can’t get myself to really dive into it and wait out the long beginning. So that being said I chose a quote from the beginning of the book (actually it’s the first sentence) that I found “hooking” because it really gave me the sense that I wouldn’t have to wait for the real story to begin. The quote I chose was “The week before I left my family and Florida and the rest of my minor life to go to boarding school in Alabama, my mother insisted on throwing me a going-away party.” This sentence showed me that A) there’s only a week until the main part of the story begins, B) He’s traveling to a whole new state and lifestyle which should be interesting, and C) That this main character who I presumed was telling the story had a bit of an attitude and kind of showed his opinion right off the bat by using the word insisted instead of decided or another word like that. Now, usually I don’t get hooked right away in a book and it takes a while but in this book I knew I would like it right from the start and I felt the same way the whole time I read this book.

Summer Reading Entry 2

       The character of Looking for Alaska I’m going to focus on for this post is Miles. He’s a pretty simple guy who really just doesn’t feel like he belongs anywhere or feel comfortable anywhere. But he does have a complicated desire. Her name is Alaska and she’s the complete opposite of him. She’s very complex and hard to read but she shares similar interests like reading for example. His other want is a desire for friends. He’s never had a solid group of friend where he really can be himself and fit in which is really all he needs. An appearing theme is something about sociality or friendship I’m not quite sure what it is though. The construction of this book is interesting. It counts down by saying a number and then before. For example, “one hundred twenty six days before” would start a section of the book. Almost like chapters but not as separate. The book doesn’t cover every single day that happens in the duration of the book. It will skip a few days and then pick back up. I enjoy the way the book is constructed because it really gives you a good sense of time and when the events are happening in relation to other events.

Summer Reading Entry 1

   

     In Looking for Alaska the major characters are Miles, Alaska and the Colonel. The book is based off of Miles’ life and the story revolves around his actions more than the other main characters. Miles isn’t very outgoing in nature and is sort of an outcast. He’s never found a place where he belongs socially and seems insecure with himself. That is, until he meets the Colonel and Alaska at his new school. They’re almost completely different from Miles personality wise. They’re very headstrong and outgoing. They seem to get into a lot of mischief (which Miles was advised not to get into). But considering the Colonel is his roommate and is his only friend he decides to go outside of his comfort zone and befriend the Colonel, who is friends with Alaska who is the prettiest girl Miles thinks he has ever seen. The setting of the book takes place at a boarding school called Culver Creek that Miles decides he wants to attend thinking it might solve some of his issues of no social life and his dad attended the school so he might make his parents proud in the process. Although the school isn’t all he dreamed it would be considering it’s a hot school in Alabama with no air conditioning and drab dorm rooms, it will have to do. I predict that by the end of the book Alaska will like miles the way Miles likes her and that the Colonel will resolve his issues with the bullies at the school.