Annotation: Miles cannot wait to escape his boring life for the great unknown at boarding school. When he meets the fun, crazy and free-spirited Alaska, he's drawn to her like a moth is to flame. But even the brightest lights can't shine forever.
Justification for Rejection: While I believe this book will resonate with teen readers and that they will like it, I can't nominate this title for two reasons.
The first, and main reason, is what I see as a very big hole in the plot. At the beginning of the novel, Miles Cavalry's parents decide to throw him a going away party, as Miles is leaving for boarding school. However, Miles is convinced that no one will attend the party, and he isn't far off the mark. Why no one at his current school likes him is a mystery. He doesn't fit in, but there is no real explanation offered to the reader for his unpopularity. Especially considering that when Miles arrives at boarding school, he is almost immediately accepted and befriended by several students. In addition, we find out that he is even pretty cute. It just doesn't add up, and I can only assume that it was laziness on the author's part to not come up with a better solution for why Miles was so eager to leave home.
My second reason for rejecting this novel for the Mock Printz is its treatment of grief. As someone who experienced the loss of a boyfriend at the age of the book's characters, the actions and emotions of the surviving characters didn't ring true. I can understand different people having different reactions to similar events, but if I'm reading a book with such a serious emotional climax, I want to feel it. And I didn't.
John Green has written an entertaining story, and one that I feel is certainly trying to be meaningful. I think this one fell short.
Genre Category: Printz Award winner; Reality/Edgy/Problem ; Coming of Age
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