Talks of adaptations for John Green’s popular book, Looking for Alaska, have been in the works for some time. I vividly remember reading this book as a teenager, since John Green is one of my favorite authors. When I heard that Hulu was adapting the book into a TV show, I had high hopes. John Green’s other books have done well as adaptations, and I hoped that this one would be the same.
I wasn’t disappointed! So much of the show felt like the book, fleshing out the parts that needed to be fleshed out. From the soundtrack to the actors, everything felt thoroughly thought out, making this adaptation high on my list of bookish adaptations.
Summary
Backing up for a moment, I’m sure there are plenty of people who have no idea what Looking for Alaska is about. So, a brief summary! Looking for Alaska follows Miles Halter, a kid looking for his “great perhaps.” A collector of famous last words, he decides to transfer to Culver Creek, a boarding school in Georgia. There, he earns the nickname “Pudge,” and meets the troublemakers of the school: Alaska, the Colonel, and Takumi.
Engaged in an epic prank war with the Weekday Warriors, Miles can’t help but find himself falling for Alaska. She launches him into a life he never could have imagined. But when tragedy strikes the school, none of them are ready for what comes after.
Thoughts on Hulu’s Looking for Alaska
Where the book only gives us Miles’ point of view, the show broadens this. We get to see from Alaska, the Colonel, and even some of Miles’ teachers. We get a larger picture of this culture that Miles has transferred to, fleshing out some of the characters that fall flat in Green’s book. In the show, we get a richer, more diverse experience than that of the book. Almost the perfect supplement for the book that was written over 10 years ago.
In addition to fleshing out the characters, we also get to feel a broad range of emotions. Yes, the pranks are funny and hilarious and we get some of those famous lines: “You can’t catch the mother-f*cking fox.” But each character is struggling with something, too. How they deal with these heavy subjects and balance them with hilarious pranks draws you into the show, the same way Green draws you into the book.
One of my only qualms about the show is the way that it’s structure. The book is divided into “Before” and “After,” which they also use in the show. However, they somewhat give away the ending in the beginning (if that makes sense). In the book, these feel more ominous. Before what? In the show, you kind of know what’s coming, taking away that ominous feeling.
All in all, the elements of the show come together to create something that’s an extension of Green’s novel. And that’s all that we can ask for in an adaptation, right? To take a story we love and make something that feels authentic to that story. Hulu definitely did that with Looking for Alaska.
I have to admit I didn’t like the book much at all. But I would be curious to try the series because it sounds like it is a better adaption of the book! I also felt like the fault in our stars was a better adaption than book so I should give it a go ^.^
Yes! The characters are more developed in the series, and I think it plays out really well on screen, especially with the cast that they chose! 🙂