"Looking for Alaska", John Green--Thoughts

This book is something of a tearjerker, be warned. Telling you why would constitute a major spoiler, but I will say that it involves Alaska Young, the centerpiece of this novel. The tearjerker-spoiler occurs in the middle of the book, which, along with creating an unusual story flow, precludes any sort of spoiler-free rumination on the plot.

Which is actually pretty annoying, as I want to discuss it, but this is one book that shouldn't be spoiled for anyone. :/

--Anyway--

Alaska is one of those fascinating people whom one seldom runs into in real life. She is attractive, flighty, loyal, brilliant, idiotic, courageous, cowardly, and, most of all, completely and utterly unknowable. Not a single character understands what's going on in her head. The book describes her impact on a small group friends at a boarding school, as narrated by "Pudge", a newcomer to the group.

Bear in mind, that's a rough description. A distinguishing characteristic of John Green novels is the inability of the reader to determine one main theme. There are often several instead, which is one reason I like John Green so much.

There is a certain amount of sexual content and great deal of smoking, drinking, and cussing in this book, which caused certain (very silly) groups and organizations to raise something of an outcry.

"The book has never been marketed to 12-year-olds. Never. It is packaged like an adult book; it doesn't even say it's published by a kids' book imprint on the cover, and it's never shelved in the children's section of bookstores."

That was the author's response, and he's totally right. However, everyone over the age of 14 should read this book. No questions asked. It's just that good.

The author has acknowledged that certain parts of the novel derive from his days at boarding school, and the wikipedia article implies that the book is largely autobiographical. This has not been directly confirmed by the author, however.

It is also worth mentioning that John Green is one of the two Vlog Brothers and thus cofounder of the Nerdfighters, an organization dedicated to reducing the amount of suck and increasing the amount of awesome in the world.

Green's personal website contains FAQs and summaries for all his books.

"Eating Animals", Jonathan Safran Foer--Full Review

This book made me want to become a vegetarian. At least, until I discovered that we buy the majority of our food from the only non-factory farm in the area. But still. It was pretty shocking. Anyway, review:

A version of this review first appeared in the Langley high school newspaper The Saxon Scope.

You wouldn’t eat something infected with a dozen different diseases, that’s been fed more antibiotics than a typical AIDS victim and is genetically engineered to die when left alone, right? Well then, put down your hamburgers. Cast off your chicken and turkey. Eschew your delicious pork. For that, along with pain and suffering, is what you’re eating.

So asserts Jonathan Safran Foer in his new book “Eating Animals”, which, strangely enough, is not a an attempt to convert the reader to vegetarianism. Rather, it is a brilliant cross between Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” and Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”. “Eating Animals” is part memoir, part philosophy, and part exposé. In an engaging, conversational manner, Foer touches on the concept of “suffering” (what is it, exactly? Do animals feel it?), the cruelty of factory farms, and the cultural importance of meat at the dinner table.

Backed by a bibliography bigger than a college student’s thesis paper (60 pages, with added commentary) this book is the product of three years of extensive research. Unfortunately, it’s not perfect.

The extensive bibliography makes it possible to fact-check the author, showing that there are a couple times where the author presents a conclusion of his as fact. This doesn’t happen often, but in a book that otherwise so clearly differentiates and combines fact and opinion, it feels a touch dishonest. Connected to this is the fact that, although the author does not explicitly attempt to convert the reader to vegetarianism, this is a book about extreme injustice. As such, a self-righteous, moralistic tone occasionally permeates the writing. This isn’t bad by itself (Foer never really devolves into “preachy”) but it is jarring to read when you’re analyzing a factual argument the author made and he suddenly switches to telling an emotional anecdote.

These are annoying flaws, but they do not dilute the shocking overall message of the book: Upwards of 90% of the time you put meat into your mouth, you are enabling the inhumane torture of animals.

This is How it Begins

Hey.

My name's Patrick and I am a teen book-lover. It occurred to me that there is a dearth of commentary and reviews on teen literature by teens.

I aim to correct that. This blog will be a repository of my thoughts and/or reviews of pretty much any book I feel like talking about.

Most of that, though not all, is teen lit, which is the area most sorely in need of attention anyway. The first review coming up was written for my school paper, though that in no way diminishes its value. :P

Anyway, I hope anyone reading this blog takes something away from it, even if it is just whether or not they should read a certain book.