Reviews
I liked this a lot better than Paper Towns, although the two are often compared (and for good reason). John Green books never seem to hit me as hard as they hit most people. I tend to enjoy his characters (well, most of his characters) and his dialogue is a lot of fun, but the plotlines tend to not make me cry the way they seem to for other people, and I always feel like they are a bit melodramatic. This was true for this book as well. Alaska is easier to empathize with than some of his other kind of zany female characters. I get the idea that her actions stem from something real as opposed to just being a part of her personality we are supposed to think is cute, and she had a background that genuinely made me feel for her. I didn't really enjoy the whole boarding school crap that they were all doing. The sheer amount of trouble these kids get into was kind of ridiculous, and I just can't manage to relate. I couldn't have as an actual teenager, and I certainly can't now. It's all just a little odd to me. Some of the practical jokes played (in particular the last one) were fun, though, and I enjoyed that aspect. But the smoking and the drinking seemed insanely over-the-top to me. Maybe that is really what happens, but if so it is a part of teenagehood I never experienced or even really saw, so it felt odd to have it included as a matter of course. Is this what is is/was like to be a teenager off at boarding school and I am just way out of the loop? Pudge was a little bit lame in a few ways (his obsession with Alaska being the primary one), but I liked him well enough for him to carry the book. The Colonel was over-the-top, but added some color.There was a message here. It came out without being terribly preachy or annoying and stayed just this side of cheesy, and unlike some books it was a message worth broadcasting, but this was absolutely supposed to be an uplifting sort of book, and that aspect didn't quite work for me. It also didn't quite work as a mystery, because I guessed a chunk of the "answer," and was thus vaguely annoyed at how long it took the boys to put together the pieces. In addition, it was not really the kind of mystery that was strictly "solveable" in a sense that we are sure, even at the end, whether the answer was right. It was an explanation for something otherwise inexplicable, but aspects of what happened remain in the dark and always will. That might be part of the message, perhaps--John Green seems very keen on the idea that you can never completely understand someone else. I did enjoy it, but I always find myself wanting to like John Green books more than I actually do. I get the idea I would like him and I like the way he writes, but I never connect the way I feel like I should. His books and I are two puzzle pieces that almost fit, but no matter how many times we jam them together there is never that satisfying "click" noise where we connect.
A vivid, passionate and intensely moving novel from internationally bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars, John Green.
Definitivamente este libro no es para mí. Lo encontré demasiado absurdo
I wanted to fall in love with this book in this story is so bad because almost every other book by John Green I have fell in love with and I watched the movies or whatever TV adaptation or whatever it is and I've just been in love with the characters but for some reason this book I didn't hate it but I didn't like it. I have the time there are certain points and times where I was reading it but I wasn't paying attention to what I was actually reading so I didn't get any of that little trunk or whatever it was and then there was other times where I was reading it and I was like I'm slightly confused over the overall plot of what the hell I'm reading right now. Either way, the book wasn't bad like I said but it wasn't definitely good so it's getting a 2 out of five for me.
2.5 stars , the quotes are very nice, the book? Not so much
After reading so many bad reviews about this book, I was sceptical about whether I would like it or not. But, this was not bad... The first half of the book is about Miles settling into his hostel life, making friends, playing pranks and creating lifetime memories. It was filled with teenagers doing teenage things, being pretentious and making bad life choices🤦🏻♀️The second part of the book is met with a tragedy which comes with a mystery, wreaking havoc on Miles and his friends. As they try to solve the mystery, they discover themselves and understand the meaning of loss and grief, and how to forgive themselves and others.The main focus of the book was on the philosophical angle of how things are in this labyrinth of suffering, and how do we get out of this labyrinth? But, the ending paragraphs for the same just went over my head😅Overall, it was an okayish read with mixed pacing and an engaging plotline. It's about teenagers, broken and lost, fighting their inner demons, struggling with friendships and heartbreaks, and looking for meaning in life.Trigger Warnings: Smoking, Drinking, Death, Suicide Reference, Sexual Content