It might come as a surprise to everyone, but I like to read. Over the last couple of weeks I have been reading Looking For Alaska by John Green. This book was so captivating and grabbed my attention right away, and I know I'm not the only one who feels that way. After reading this book, my class and I watched Paper Towns which is another book written by John Green and produced into a film. Paper Towns has great similarity to the book Looking For Alaska. They share a common theme of "don't forget what you love" and "time heals when your with your friends". These themes work so well to connect them because they both have lovesick boys who want a girl they can't have. Both of the boys go searching for these free spirited ladies thinking that they left clues to come find them. After time while both the boys where searching for these girls the boys heart are being healed without noticing. Time with their friends helped them when they didn't even know. This was cool because we got to see them transform.
We were also able to feel and see what they feel as we are going along with them and witnessing this transformation. The book and movie made the boys so relatable as well. It felt like how it feels to have a crush on your best friend. It is that so close but yet so far feeling. The feeling of butterflies they get when ever their crush is near and they don't want that feeling to go away. It is how they feel like a different person when they are near. The girls were also interesting characters. They wanted to be free and not tied down. They both felt broken and unknowing of who they really are. I think almost everyone has gone through that feeling. These ladies did not feel worthy of the love felt by the boys.
John Green really hit on an universal point with the teenage emotions felt with these characters. He also really got how hard it was to get over their problems. One of the main ones that stuck out to me was when they both flip because all their friends were done looking for something that was gone and didn't want to help anymore. In Paper Towns and Looking For Alaska they both find peace a little after that moment in knowing that it can't be helped. Also they both got closure towards the end of the book. Even though they got it in completely different ways they still got it. Which I guess can help us all. Sometimes people just need to scream and let things go. Then when you're done with the well needed tantrum all your answers can flow to you and you can find peace.
The film really helps on that aspect, because you can really visualize the pain and joy in the actual faces where some people hard to picture that. It really effects the feeling of it though, because now you're seeing your favorite characters in pain and you're seeing the hardships they are actually going through. When you're watching a film you can also go through the placebo affect, where you are feeling what they are feeling and start crying when they cry. It can be a mess.
Although in the book it really lets your imagination run free. The reader can really get their own views on it and picture what they want to see. When you are able to picture what you want to be happening then it really adds to the emotion and the feeling of the book. It can really get you chained into the book with no escape. My problem with that is I am always upset when it ends. It's really great though seeing how they transform your pictures into real life.
