Looking for Alaska by John Green

Looking for Alaska

Author: John Green

Publisher: Dutton Books

Date of Publication: 2005

Format: Hardcover

Page Count: 221 Pages

Cost: $15.99

ISBN: 0-525-47506-0

Reading Level: Ages 14 and up

Awards and Honors:

2006 Michael L. Printz Award

Plot Summary: Miles Halter never had any true friends until he began attending boarding school at Culver Creek. Suddenly he finds himself surrounded by a group of people who accept and value him for the unique individual that he is. They introduce him to smoking, drinking, cursing, and playing pranks on the other students and staff at the school. Miles is completely smitten by Alaska Young, who is clever, gorgeous, and a deeply unhappy person. When Alaska dies in a senseless car accident, Miles is left behind to ponder the meaning of life and wonder whether he played a part in her death.

Evaluation: This book is a heart wrenching tale about death claiming a young person way before her time. When Alaska dies in a car accident, her friends are left wondering whether it was a stupid, alcohol induced mistake or an intentional attempt at suicide. Parents are likely to raise an eyebrow at the underage smoking and drinking, as well as an awkward sex scene between Miles and his girlfriend, but teens will recognize the truth and honesty in Green’s writing. Miles is a lovely and well developed character who gives voice to every teen’s thoughts and fears about death. This book would make an excellent conversation starter for teens discussing the far-reaching consequences of bad choices.

Annotation: Miles must find a way to come to terms with the tragic and questionable death of one of his first true friends and biggest crush, Alaska Young.

Links:
Looking for Alaska Reading Guide

Looking for Alaska Challenged at Depew High School

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13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Before I Die by Jenny Downham

Lessons From a Dead Girl by Jo Knowles

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Author: J.K. Rowling

Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

Date of Publication: 2007

Format: Hardcover

Page Count: 759 Pages

Cost: $34.99

ISBN: 0-545-01022-5

Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Plot Summary: In this final installment of Rowling’s seven-part Harry Potter series, Harry and his friends have dropped out of their last year of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in order to hunt down and destroy Voldemort’s seven horcruxes. They spend most of the year isolated and on the run as the entire wizarding community is ripped apart by Voldemort and his death eater followers. Harry learns the legend of the Peverell brothers and begins looking for the elder wand, a wand which cannot be destroyed in a duel. In a climactic final battle on the grounds of Hogwarts many lives are lost on both sides, but eventually Harry is able to defeat Voldemort for good. A short epilogue provides a brief glimpse into the lives of Harry and his friends nineteen years after that battle, as they prepare their own children to begin a new school year at Hogwarts.

Evaluation: This book provides a stunning and undeniably satisfying conclusion to an exceptionally popular series. Readers will laugh and cry along with Harry and his friends as they triumph and experience setbacks during their journey. Rowling has created characters so rich and a fantasy world so vivid that young readers are sure to be enthralled by this series for many years to come. Fans of these books will delight in this final installment and find themselves unable to put it down.

Reader’s Annotation: Harry Potter and his friends must make one final, valiant stand against the evil Voldemort, but a prophecy says that neither can live while the other survives.

Links:

Harry Potter Lesson Plans

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Reader’s Guide

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The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

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