Miles “Pudge” Halter joins a boarding school in Alabama, where he becomes friends with Chip “The Colonel” Martin, Takumi Hikohito, and Alaska Young. It’s a coming-of-age story that features partying, schoolwork, rivalries, pranks, and, of course, love. The first half of the book is great, featuring lots of character development and fun discussions, but then a tragedy occurs in the story, and sadly, the book takes a bit of a nose dive, and never quite recovers.
I loved John Green’s The Fault in our Stars, and like that book, this one introduces you to a bunch of deep, entertaining characters. Miles has the funny trait of memorizing the last words of famous people; Chip gives everyone fun nicknames (such as “Pudge” and “The Colonel”); Alaska is a delightful mix of sexy, immature, badass, and unstable. The first half of the book mostly follows them around as they get to know each other and form deep friendships, all of which makes for entertaining reading.
But then the book hits a major turning point, and the story completely changes tune. It gets darker; it focuses less on camaraderie and more on sorrow; it adds a central mystery for the characters to explore, but they aren’t exactly detectives, and the resolution isn’t especially satisfying. I understand the message John Green was trying to deliver by building the story this way, but the change between the first and second half seemed too jarring, and it abandoned the strengths of the story, going from a wonderful book about love, friendship, and growth, to just an average one about loss & pain.
