Isabelle King (Y12)
Now this is one of those staple books that you end up reading at some point in your life, whether that be because of a recommendation or simply because you decided you wanted to read about the complex, highly elusive, and depressing nature of the teen mind. Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, this and Dead Poets Society have a lot in common…
Looking for Alaska centers around the main character, Miles Halter, who is a boarding school student and happens to have a bad relationship with his family; he therefore deeply immerses himself in the school community. He ends up forming a deep connection with a girl named Alaska Young, who, you guessed it, also has a bad relationship with her family. She dies (which, by the way, is not a spoiler; it is in the official synopsis). Following a night of heavy drinking, Alaska dies in a car crash while consumed by the memory of her mother’s sudden death. She carries immense guilt over the tragedy, believing she is entirely responsible because she panicked and failed to call emergency services when her mother suffered an aneurysm. Miles, Colonel, and friends blame themselves for her death because they allowed her to leave, even knowing that she was not in a good mental state. After her death, her friends desperately comb over every aspect of her life because they were looking for a terrible external source that could relieve them of their own guilt.
At its core, this book deals with the idea of teenage mental health, grief, and acceptance. Rather than offering a neat understanding or a cookie-cutter version of grief, Green delves into how grief can shift your whole perspective of reality. He explores how, in many cases, the answer to moving forward lies in your ability to accept that there are no perfect answers to tragedy. The character’s journey to healing is paved in acceptance as he concludes that he has to forgive himself and others, even though they were complicit. The circumstances that led Alaska to make her decision were not their responsibility alone, and in the end, everything boiled down to how we deal with guilt. Miles and his friends manage to break the cycle of tragedy resulting from immense feelings of guilt, as should you. In some cases, holding on to remorse for an action of yours is good because it allows you to grow. But in a lot of circumstances, guilt can be misplaced or held close to the heart for too long. So do not let your previous decisions define you; strive for growth and acceptance always!