Looking for Alaska begins with the main character Miles "Pudge" Halter. He is leaving home in order to go find the Great Perhaps of his life. He leaves a school of no friends, to Culver Creek, a private school in Birmingham. A private school that has a top notice education, where his father attended as well as pulled off some pretty good pranks. His roommate, Chip "the Colonel" Martin quickly becomes one of his best friends. Through him he is introduced to Alaska. She acts as though she is a force of nature. She and Chip were poor students who are extremely smart and there on scholarship. They have a feud going with the Weekday Warriers, students who live in the Birmingham area and go home on weekends. A great rivalry of pranks ensues. However, one goes a bit too far. On Pudge's first night there, he learns that two students were expelled because someone ratted them out. It was an unspoken rule that you didn't rat on anyone, no matter what. The Weekend Warriors suspect it was the Colonel and take revenge on him and Pudge, but peeing in the Colonel's shoes and throwing Pudge in the lake, tied up. During the school year, Pudge develops a large crush on Alaska, who has a boyfriend. He also seems to like Lara, a quiet Romanian girl. They go through a great deal of pranks over the course of the semester and Pudge seems to be adapting well to his classes. He also gets his first taste of smoking and drinking alcohol, thanks to Alaska and the Colonel. They also begin to learn more and more about each other, including Alaska's difficult past in which she witnessed her mother die and did not call 911. However, one night right after finals and after pulling off a huge prank, a drunk Alaska kisses Pudge. Yet, after a phone call, she comes back running back in hysterical. The next morning, it is revealed that Alaska was killed in a car crash. The Colonel and Pudge set out to find out what happened that night, if it was simply an accident or if she intended to kill herself. They don't know why she left or what exactly happened. It can causes problems between the two friends, but in the end, they rally together and come to terms with her death. It was revealed that the night she died was the anniversary of her mothers death and she forgot. She was really drunk and she could have thought that she could make it or just wished to die. They come to the realization that Alaska was extremely messed up and had a lot of psychological problems and guilt over her mother. They also pull off an amazing prank in honor of Alaska, who would have loved it.
The book is extremely moving. Each chapter counts down the days before the accident and the days after. However, the chapters simply say "ninety-eight days before" rather than detail what is it counting down to or from. I also thought it was interesting to see the mourning perspective of teen who was in love. He seemed to grieve as though he was simply going through the motions. But one of the most touching aspects of the book occurred when Pudge and the Colonel simply hugged each other. It was like the hurt could easily be felt. The character of Alaska was a complex character. Not only did she have moments of great genius, but also moments in which she could be rather annoying. But nonetheless her death in the book was extremely tragic and left a large impact on those around her. It was interesting to see how Pudge transitioned from a person with no friends, to someone who found himself as part of a small group of people. In the end, it was nice to see how they didn't have to have Alaska's death completely figured out. They just needed to be reminded of her life.
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