You’ll never know how one year can take your life into a whole other level. Miles Halter was only in search of “the Great Perhaps”, but he never knew how great it really was until he moved to Culver Creek, a boarding school in Alabama. It was his decision, but having to be a part of the wrong people, including meeting the Alaska Young–was not something he had in mind.

Though this is John Green’s debut novel, which won the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award, it isn’t my first John Green book. My first encounter with him is when I read Paper Towns, which now I realize that it has the same theme with Looking for Alaska: a relationship between a little well-known boy and a rebellious, erratic girl. The story follows Miles Halter, a 16-year-old boy who memorizes notable people’s last words. He moved to Culver Creek to seek something spectacular and remarkable, hence “the Great Perhaps”. He experienced so many things as a novice–things he hadn’t seen in the first place, the ones he’d never do before life actually came to him. As the story progresses, Miles finally discovered the answer to one question given from his crush, Alaska Young: “How will we ever get out of this labyrinth of suffering?”

This story succeeds in every way, and I think it is relatable to all teenagers out there. It deals with teenage problems in a very teenage way. The best thing about Looking for Alaska is that it manages to keep the story as realistic as possible. It will make you think, “so this is what school’s actually like?” as it presents a new perspective on kids these days (or those days). And it’s actually pretty dreamy, I might add, because of the mischievous acts they did which most of us don’t have the courage for!

It’s definitely one of those books that will hook you until the end, with twists to shock and mysteries to figure. Be ready when you reach the finish line, because you will see the world differently.