17 Oct A Look at a Banned Book
Looking for Alaska
by John Green
Looking for Alaska follows the story of Miles “Pudge” Halter, whose favorite pastime is memorizing famous last words. Miles leaves his home and family to live at boarding school in search of what the poet François Rabelais called a “Great Perhaps.” Miles discovers many of his firsts at Culver Creek, which the resident students merely refer to as The Creek: his first roommate, his first cigarette, his first prank, and his first drink. He finds his time at The Creek anything but boring because of his two friends he didn’t expect to find: Chip Martin, The Colonel to his friends, and Alaska Young, the most clever, funny, screwed-up, and sexy girl Miles has ever seen. They pull Miles into their chaotic world of risks and possibilities, bringing him to the precipice of his own Great Perhaps, and then things change.
Looking for Alaska has been challenged and placed on the banned books list in multiple states, including Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Indiana. It has been listed on the American Most Banned Books List in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2022. It has been challenged on the grounds of smoking, drug and alcohol use, LGBTQIA+ content, and sexual content, and it has been deemed unsuitable for the age group of its readers.
Despite all that, the title has been listed as one of the top 10 books for teens and young adults. Looking for Alaska has also received the Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in young adult literature, which is awarded by the American Library Association.
– written by Alex B, Teen Central Library Assistant
