Looking for Alaska uses explicit language and touches on themes of underage drinking and smoking, oral sex, drunk driving and suicide. So why would John Green tag his book as Christian fiction?
Green explains in his blog that any literature, if it is to be of lasting value, must teach in some way. Even more so for YA books, he says. If good literature has a life span of 30 years, good YA lit has a life span of about 10. Besides, he argues, any author who claims to write apolitically or amorally is kidding himself.
Alaska's unabashed statement about the value of forgiveness, love and acceptance struck a chord with my own faith - a chord that was only enhanced by the novel's realistic portrayal of adolescent language and behavior.
I believe that, in spite of potential controversy, this book deserves a place on secondary school bookshelves.
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Untitled by Reavel
"I am going to seek a grand perhaps; draw the curtain, the farce is played." Francois Rabelais
acrylic on canvas by...
Who is John Green?
Twenty-eight year old author John Green has written two notable books for young adults: Looking for Alaska (2006) and An Abundance of Katherines (2007). He has also written for National Public Radio's All Things Considered and The New York Times. His first novel, Looking for Alaska, won the Michael L. Printz Award for young adult literature.
Here, you will find summaries and reviews of Green's novels, along with my reflections about how they might fit into the curriculum of secondary language arts classrooms. I relied on Green's novels as well as his website, www.sparksflyup.com, to gather information for this blog.
Who am I?
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John Green Links
Books by John Green
- An Abundance of Katherines (2006)
- Looking For Alaska (2005)
2006 Michael L. Printz Award
Thoughts from Miles Halter (Pudge)
"When adults say, 'Teenagers think they are invincible' with that sly, stupid smile on their faces, they don't know how right they are. We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably broken. We think that we are invincible because we are. We cannot be born, and we cannot die. Like all energy, we can only change shape and sizes and manifestations. They forget that when they get old. They get scared of losing and failing. But that part of us greater than the sum of our parts cannot begin and cannot end, and so it cannot fail." - Miles in John Green's Looking for Alaska
2007 Michael L. Printz Honor
Thoughts from Colin Singleton
"I figured something out," he said. "The future is unpredictable."
Hassan said, "Sometimes the kafir likes to say massively obvious things in a really profoud voice."-From John Green's An Abundance of Katherines
Untitled by Reavel
"I believe now that we are greater than the sum of our parts." (John Green)