Looking for Alaska

Book, 2005; TV Show, 2019, TV-MA

Premise - Miles (aka "Pudge") is looking to find his "Great Perhaps", some purpose or meaning to his life, once he discovered the phrase in a famous person's last words. Leaving his life thus far behind, he transfers to a boarding school camp for his junior year and meets a new group of friends, including the beautiful Alaska Young. Alaska is wild, fierce, mysterious, and unpredictable, and Miles thinks that she, perhaps, is his Great Perhaps.

Review -  Oh dear lord, what a treasure. I read this book back in high school and cried and cried and cried. And now years later, already knowing how the story goes, I watched this television adaptation and cried and cried and cried.

John Green is a literary treasure who blew up in popularity with The Fault in Our Stars. I will admit TFIOS was the first John Green book I had ever read. But immediately afterwards, I made sure to read every other John Green book that was available, with Looking for Alaska high up on the list. Next to TFIOS, this is probably his most popular book, and the first one he had ever written. With the success of the TFIOS film, fans were expecting that every other John Green book would have its own adaptation. The Paper Towns film came out so quickly afterwards that it seemed only natural that Looking for Alaska would be next. The problem was John Green had already sold the film rights several years prior, when the book was first published. It was a large part of paying off grad school debt for he and his wife, but it meant no Looking for Alaska film. I, among many other fans, just gave up on the idea that it could ever happen. But low and behold, with the incredible rise in popularity of streaming television, there was now a loophole! If we couldn't have a film, we could have a television drama, which is potentially even better because it can include all the details and more.

Even better yet, the television genius behind the adaptation is Josh Schwartz, who I know best from my favorite television show, Chuck. He is also behind other popular shows such as Gossip Girl and The O.C. Not only is he my FAVORITE television producer in the entire industry, but he has by far the BEST music taste of anyone I know, even those I know personally. My entire music taste has been formed around the songs he chose for Chuck. 

It was a perfect recipe - John Green + Josh Schwartz. And it did not disappoint. The book was written in 2005, and therefore the television show also is grounded in 2005. This meant that Josh Schwartz picked all of his music from that 2000's era, which makes it all the more nostalgic. I was nostalgic for high school because that was when I read the book, but also nostalgic for the 2000's due to the outfits and the music. 

The trailers did not do this show justice. It is a phenomenal adaptation. It's a shame that I imagine there is a much smaller audience for it than there would have been in film because 1) the advertising and trailers weren't great and 2) not everyone has hulu. Netflix is a much more popular platform. But regardless of how many views it got, I think of it as wildly successful. 

It's amazing how much of the book I had forgotten. There were so many moments in this series where I thought "Wow, they're really improvising a lot and adding to the characters", come to find that it was all in the original source material. I had just forgotten. The pieces that really stuck with me were Alaska's death, some of the iconic quotes (i.e. "Y'all smoke to enjoy it, I smoke to die"), and of course, the blowjob scenes with the toothpaste. Everything else faded away in my mind, so watching the show was so absolutely refreshing. 

The best part was the realization of the characters. Phenomenal casting (except for the fact that Miles and Alaska look slightly related. I still can't get over that). With a character as larger-than-life as Alaska, she is almost uncastable. Fans saw her pictures and the trailers before the show premiered and immediately went to judge her as not being the right fit. I imagine they would say that about any young actress. Alaska is the embodiment of the male fantasy of a teenage girl, how could you possibly get her right?? But the actress gave such an incredible performance that I really hope that anyone watching the show would have taken back their premature judgments. She deserves all the praise in the world for making Alaska so real. I also saw some criticism for her looking too "fresh" or "sweet" or "nice" instead of edgy, and I just don't understand that. They are at a strict boarding school where they can't wear makeup or dress provocatively, and yet somehow you still know straight away from looking at Alaska that she has edge. Moreover, when she does go out and party, you do see that side of her with dark, black makeup and messy hair. It's all very rooted in 2005 as well, as reflected in the fashion. Her party image reminded me of Avril Lavigne.

The portrayal of Pudge was also successful at being awkward yet likeable. Yet some of the line delivery was a bit forced, as it is with most portrayals of John Green characters. He has these quotes that are so iconic in literary form, yet are so wildly poetic that they sound ridiculous out loud. John Green's most famous lines are by far the hardest to deliver, and I think the actor who played Miles did a very good job. The Colonel, Takumi, and Lara were also well cast and very lovable. 

My biggest gripe is that in the book it is explicitly stated that Miles and Alaska did not have sex. They still didn't have sex in the TV show, thank goodness, but the fact that they take off some of their clothes might make a viewer who hadn't read the book assume they had sex and that just kind of ruins how he might have perceived her after death. So much of the point of the book was how little he can ever know about her. 

Pretty much every one of John Green's books has the same theme that can be summed up simply with a Paper Towns quote, "What a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person." In this story, it's Alaska who is thought to be larger than life by Miles. John Green's protagonists often start the novel by glorifying their romantic interests. But she's only human, just like all of John Green's extraordinary, big-personality characters, like Augustus Waters or Margo. She's skin, bones, and her own consciousness. I was very pleased how well this came across. (95/100)

Quote - "I believe now that we are greater than the sum of our parts. If you take Alaska's genetic code and you add her life experiences and the relationships she had with people, and then you take the size and shape of her body, you do not get her. There is something else entirety."

What to watch for - Again, watch the show for the SOUNDTRACK. It's so freakin' good.

If you liked this book/TV show, I'd recommend Paper Towns! 

Written by John Green

Adapted for television by Josh Schwartz

Published by Dutton Juvenile

Distributed by Hulu