Geez. I certainly can relate to Miles. He's the main character in the book in the title of this blog entry. The number one reason why? Like every other boy, there is a girl in his life that he desires but just cannot have. And after that girl dies? Well, every kid should read this story. Because I certainly would have dealt with it in a much more devastatingly emotional way. Miles and the Colonel are an odd couple. Miles never had friends before really, but I find that hard to believe. I guess a lot of kids have been there before. And that is where he serves as a great influence. Although there is a lot of general tomfoolery in this book, none of it is truly bad. You know...the BAD kind of bad. Like violence and such. He just plays pranks and smokes cigarettes. And while students who read this should certainly stay away from these activities (obviously, and especially, smoking), Miles finds himself, and friends through his newfound sociability. A lot of students might read this and realize that, hey, if Miles can find lifelong friends, maybe they can too? The only thing I am worried about is that some students might see the negative acts and take that as a way to escape the confines or alienation. But I think that would not giving credit to young people. I think that a large majority of them would certainly recognize that smoking and pranks and drinking and the like are common among young adults and there are those who will do it or won't do it regardless of their reading this text.
Alaska. She's that unattainable girl. I found myself wanting to be Miles just so I could talk to her. She seems so...likable, yet she is obviously somewhat psychologically ill. She has dealt with a lot in life, and the death of her mother seems to be the thing that affected her most. That's what makes me apprehensive about saying she is ill in the mind. Everyone goes through emotional turmoil and she just needed someone to be there for her, to help console and counsel her. Unfortunately, that didn't come in time and she died. A few pages before her death, Alaska was giving advice on fellatio, and then was making out with Miles, the boy she often flirted with (and many young men probably wish they were at the time). Unfortunately she made a mistake, and everyone had to emotionally pay for it. In the end, lessons were learned and people moved on, but no one would forget Alaska Young, the girl who chose her own name.
The book also touched on some other great themes that would well suit a young adult classroom. Especially the concept of social cliques and moving upward socially. It isn't that a lot of kids want to be popular, but nearly no one wants to be rejected by all of their peers. Miles felt that way before going to a boarding school states away from his home. His friends, and especially his roommate the Colonel, all helped him grow. Dr. Hyde, however, was the mentor who showed an outright display of compassion. Even at the end, the school's headmaster the Eagle, seemed to favor the young men by acknowledging their prank in honor of Alaska. The story is a great tale and was a fun read and really, although its cliche, a page-turner. I am convinced many young adults would agree. I still am in that in between stage at being twenty-four, and I find that I can relate to some of these issues as they are still fresh in my mind. Kids. will. love. this. book. The pranking and fun and foolishness and then after. The grief. The planning of the major prank. The students all coming together, and banding together. And the subtle tones of religion, especially Buddhist mantra, all cover a wide variety of themes. The book serves not only as an educational tool on school life and culture, but on life itself and how to deal with grief and come together as a group. Miles is the type of boy so many other young boys can relate to and for that and these aforementioned reasons, this book should sit on any young adult curriculum there is.
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