Author: John Green
Ages: 10th - 12th grades
Review: There's quite a bit of hype and blogging going on right now about Looking for Alaska. The basis for this banter centers on the fact that this novel, Green's first, is targeting at Young Adults yet the adult language and sexual tones are quite explicit. Take a look at this post with a vlog embed from another blogger to see just how passionate both sides of this issue have been. Warning: Some individuals may be offended by the explicit language used in this posts: Bee's Booknerd. For a summary and commentary, check out Nymeth's exceptional review at her things mean a lot blog.
My take? This is an exceptional book, deserving the ALA Award it received. If it were a movie, it would be rated 'R' for explicit language and sexual content. My tension of recommending this book is tethered between the typical language of teens and actions of teens depicted in the novels versus what I would like to have teens absorb versus the intensely emotional journey Green takes us on as readers. It's the kind of book you want every teenager to pick up but you don't want them to read because it looks like you're condoning the language and sex. Do I think this book should be banned? No, I don't. But I also don't think this book could be chosen as a classroom novel -- unfortunately, even for high school seniors. Do I think high schoolers should read it? Yep, I do. The reconciliation of emotions bound in the storyline is a shared experience, indicative of the human condition.
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