TEACHING NOTES HarperCollins（教学笔记柯林斯）.pdfVIP

TEACHING NOTES PREPARED BY PAM SAUNDERS HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS Australia 25 Ryde Road Pymble NSW 2073 Phone: (02) 9952 5000 .au Looking for Alaska by John Green (ISBN 9780007209255) Page References are based on the Harper Collins Children’s Book edition 2006 Teaching Notes Prepared by Pam Saunders Plot Summary Sixteen year old Miles’ twin passions are reading biographies and collecting the last words of the famous. Deciding to search for, in the last words of the great Francois Rabelais, the ‘great perhaps’, Miles leaves his family in Florida and moves to Alabama to complete his final two years of school at Culver Creek Preparatory School. Miles is befriended by his gifted roommate, the Colonel, and included in the Colonel’s group of friends, among them Alaska, vibrant, sexy and dynamic, but also deeply depressed. Alaska is not only brilliant at devising pranks, but drinks and has sex. When Miles falls for (and lusts after) Alaska, she becomes critical to his story. Slowly the reader builds a picture of the main characters as each reveals their story. When Alaska dies in a car crash, her favourite last line from Simon Bolivar, “How will I ever get out of this labyrinth?” takes on a poignant meaning. The story changes as Miles and the Colonel come to terms with the loss of a friend who was central to their lives. Only by discovering the real cause of Alaska’s death can they overcome their guilt at surviving her. Awards Winner of the Michael L Printz Award (2006); ALA Best Book for Young Adults; Finalist Los Angeles Times Book Prize (2005); A New York Public Library Boo