Looking for Alaska has received both positive reviews and attempts at censorship in multiple school districts. Positive reviews include comments on the relatable high school characters and situations as well as more complex ideas such as how topics like grief are handled.[26] Overall, many reviewers agree that this is a coming-of-age story that is appealing to both older and younger readers.[27][22] Reviews also highlight the unique way John Green wrote the novel as each chapter is divided chronologically leading to the climax of the plot.[28] There has been much controversy surrounding this novel, however, especially in school settings. Parents and school administrators have questioned the novel's language, sexual content, and depiction of tobacco and alcohol use.[2] In 2012, the book reached The New York Times Best Seller list for children's paperback.[29] Looking for Alaska has been featured on the American Library Association's list of Frequently Challenged Books in 2008, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2022 because it includes drugs, alcohol, and smoking; nudity; offensive language; it is also sexually explicit.[30] The novel was awarded the Michael L. Printz award in 2006 and has also won praise from organizations such as the American Library Association, School Library Journal, and the Los Angeles Times among others.[31]
Reviews and accolades
Reviews
Positive reviews of Looking for Alaska have been attributed to Green's honest portrayal of teenagers and first love.[32] The novel's review in The Guardian describes the story's honesty, writing that "the beauty of the book is that it doesn't hide anything."[15] Others cite Green's success as a result of his candidness in portraying death, loss, and grief. In a journal article titled "Although Adolescence Need Not be Violent..," scholars Mark A. Lewis and Robert Petrone comment on the novel's ability to portray loss in a format relatable to high-school readers.[26] They write that many teenagers experience loss throughout adolescence and Green's portrayal of real characters aids in this relatability.[26] Similarly, Jayme K. Barkdoll and Lisa Scherff wrote in The English Journal, "With each page Green builds more than simply a surface-level coming-of-age novel; he envelops his readers with a vivid collection of magnetic characters, beautiful settings, intriguing facts, and powerful dilemmas that provide readers with an authentic and unique window into the lives of teenagers struggling to make sense of themselves and the world around them."[33]
Additionally, many educators and librarians recommend Looking for Alaska to their students because of the powerful themes it addresses.[27] Don Gallo, English teacher and editor for the English Journal writes that Looking for Alaska is "the most sophisticated teen novel of the year."[27] As a result of these reviews, Looking for Alaska appears on many recommended reading lists.
Awards and accolades
Looking for Alaska has won and been nominated for several literary awards. The novel has also appeared on many library and newspaper recommended booklists. In 2006, Looking for Alaska won the Michael L. Printz Award, which is awarded by the American Library Association.[34] The annual award honors the best Young Adult novel written each year.[34] Additionally, Looking for Alaska was a finalist in 2005 for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, which recognizes new and noteworthy writers.[35] Looking for Alaska has been featured on the 2006 Top 10 Best Book for Young Adults, 2006 Teens' Top 10 Award, and 2006 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.[35] It has also been noted as a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, a Booklist Editor's Choice Pick, Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection, and Borders Original Voices Selection.[35]
Censorship in the United States
Looking for Alaska has frequently been challenged. Based on data collected by the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF), the book was the fourth-most banned, challenged, and/or removed book in the United States between 2010 and 2019.[3] The book landed on the ALA's list of Top 10 Banned Books in 2012 (7), 2013 (7), 2015 (1), 2016 (6), and 2022 (5).[36][37] The book has been deemed unsuited for the age group because of its sexually explicit content, offensive language, and inclusion of drugs, alcohol, and smoking.[37]
Knox and Sumner counties, Tennessee
In March 2012, The Knoxville Journal reported that a parent of a 15-year-old Karns High School student objected to the book's placement on the Honors and Advanced Placement classes' required reading lists for Knox County, Tennessee high schools on the grounds that its sex scene and its use of profanity rendered it pornography.[38] Ultimately, students were kept from reading the novel as a whole, but Looking for Alaska was still available in libraries within the district. In May 2012, Sumner County in Tennessee also banned the teaching of Looking for Alaska. The school's spokesman argued that two pages of the novel included enough explicit content to ban the novel.
Depew High School, Buffalo, New York
Two teachers at Depew High School near Buffalo, New York, used the book for eleventh grade instruction in 2008. Looking for Alaska was challenged by parents for its sexual content and moral disagreements with the novel. Despite the teachers providing an alternate book, parents still argued for it to be removed from curriculum due to its inappropriate content such as offensive language, sexually explicit content, including a scene described as "pornographic", and references to homosexuality, drugs, alcohol, and smoking. The book was ultimately kept in the curriculum by the school board after a unanimous school board vote with the stipulation that the teachers of the 11th grade class give the parents a decision to have their children read an alternate book. Looking for Alaska was defended by the school district because they felt it dealt with themes relevant to students of this age, such as death, drinking and driving, and peer pressure.[39]
West Ada School District, Idaho
In 2016, the West Ada School District in Meridian, Idaho removed Looking for Alaska from all of its middle school libraries.[40] The school district found the content of the book to be too inappropriate for middle school students. The school district originally received a complaint from a parent on the grounds of the presence of foul language and mentions of actions like smoking and suicide. The district librarian looked into parental complaints along with reviews of the novel suggesting that it was best suited for high schoolers and made the decision to pull the book from the middle school library.[40]
Marion County, Kentucky
In 2016 in Marion County, Kentucky, parents urged schools to drop it from the curriculum, referring to it as influencing students "to experiment with pornography, sex, drugs, alcohol and profanity."[41] Although the teacher offered an opt-out book for the class, one parent still felt as though the book should be banned entirely and filed a formal complaint. After the challenge, students were given an alternate book for any parents who were not comfortable with their children reading the book. One parent still insisted on getting the book banned and filed a Request for Reconsideration on the basis that Looking for Alaska would tempt students to experiment with drugs, alcohol, and sex despite the decisions made after the challenge.[42]
Author's response to censorship
Green defended his book on his YouTube channel, Vlogbrothers. The video, entitled "I Am Not A Pornographer", describes the Depew High School challenge of Looking for Alaska and his frustration at the description of his novel as pornography. Green explains the inclusion of the oral sex scene in Looking for Alaska stating, "The whole reason that scene in question exists in Looking for Alaska is because I wanted to draw a contrast between that scene, when there is a lot of physical intimacy, but it is ultimately very emotionally empty, and the scene that immediately follows it, when there is not a serious physical interaction, but there's this intense emotional connection." Green argues that the misunderstanding of his book is the reason for its controversy, and urges people to understand the actual literary content before judging specific scenes. He also disagrees with the way that groups of parents underestimate the intelligence of teenagers and their ability to analyze literature. He ends with encouraging his viewers to attend the Depew School Board hearing to support the choice of parents, students, and teachers to have Looking for Alaska included in public schools.[43]
