While Looking for Alaska, I Found a New Favorite Book

     I am going to take just a few sentences to say that this week I started my classes. They are all about children's literature and I am so excited. I feel like Hermione Granger in class and that, as a student, is very important to me. I am sure you all will be hearing a lot about my classes as I continue my journey of becoming a teacher.
      Today, I want to talk about a young adult book that I read recently. I am sure that many of you have heard of a man named John Green and if you haven't, I encourage you to look him up. I have always heard wonderful things about him, but I hadn't read any of his books. Frankly, I was scared that his writing wouldn't live up to what I had hoped it would be. I will tell you right now, I was very wrong. I would call myself a word snob and I found myself being swept away in how beautiful and easy his work was to relate to and swooning over the line characters would say longing for someone to say the same thing about me.

I thought you all may want to see what he looks like. He looks like a sweet little guy.

  I decided to start reading his book randomly this summer. I started with "Looking for Alaska" just randomly and instantly fell in love with how he wrote the story. He has an amazing ability to develop a character and make you, as a reader, fall in love with them. I bought my copy on my kindle and plan on buying a paper back copy of it because I want to highlight and write note all over it.

http://www.amazon.com/Looking-Alaska-John-Green/dp/0142402516/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377728283&sr=8-1&keywords=looking+for+alaska

       This is the story about a boy that goes away to boarding school and finds his first real love. While away he learns about life, friendship, love and great heartache. I think what I personally like the most is that he words things in a way that your heart understands. I would read his words and I could feel his meaning deep in my bones. I want to give you all a few examples so you know what I mean when I say that his words will bring your heart to life.

For me this quote speaks volumes. I think when you are young, no matter what, you tend to feel so alone and like no one understands you. One day someone just walks into your life and suddenly it all clicks. I wasn't meant to be a alone at all, my heart and mind have just been waiting to find someone that understands the core of who I am.

       In my heart, I think that this book and probably many of Green's other books should just be put in the hands of teenagers when the walk in the door of their high school the first day, but sadly I know it is not a perfect world that we live in. If you are a parent or teacher, I challenge you to read his stories and get in the heads of your teenagers. I was one not so long ago, and I know that while that can be hard to handle it would probably surprise you what they are thinking. If you are a teen reading this I say put down that vampire book you are reading ,and learn about true human emotion. Learn about compassion. Learn to have a love of words and reading and if you are lucky  that love will continue to grow like a garden your whole life. 

                                                                             Until next time, Happy Reading,

                                                                                               Ms. Cara

       PS. I would be more than happy to hear some comments. Have you read this book? Do you think you might now? Let me know I would love so much to talk to you about books.