John Green has won
many awards for Looking For Alaska such as:
Finalist, 2005 Los Angeles Times Book Prize
2006 Top 10 Best Book for Young Adults
2006 Teens’ Top 10 Award
2006 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
A Booklist Editor’s Choice Pick
Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection
Borders Original Voices Selection
I believe he
won these based on how he writes. He does an amazing job of using word choice,
syntax, and imagery.
While reading looking for Alaska by John
Green I have noticed patterns in his word choice and his imagery. His diction
seems to start off higher level than in the same sentence become very casual.
In other words he tends to enhance his sentences with good words but also
casual words to make it higher level yet relatable. His characters all have a
different type of word choice, some more casual than others. A good example of
his diction choice is "I stared, stunned partly by the force of the voice
emanating from the petite (but God, curvy) girl..." (Green 15) John starts
off with a formal good word choice, but adds in the very casual detail. This
allows the reader to feel intrigued by the good words but also not turned away
because of lack of understanding.
I idolize John Green because of the way he
writes. I really enjoy the way he writes because of how he changes up his
formal and in formal diction. I learn great new words while reading his books,
but at the same time fully understand them. I also enjoy his imagery in Looking
For Alaska. He is very descriptive and I can get a clear image in my head. An
excellent example of his imagery is "I began picking at the cracks in the
couch's leather, digging my fingers into the foamy whiteness" ( Green 13)
this line gave me a vivid image of the action the character was doing. It is hard for me as a reader to understand a book that is not descirbtive or doesnt ever use casual diction. John Greens books are perfect for me as a reader and probably appeal to many others reading intrests. After only the first few pages of Looking for Alaska I honestly can say i felt like i knew the characters and was standing there next to them. The words come alive and tease your emotions. I really
enjoy John Green's diction and Imagery because of the way it makes me as a
reader feel. I highly recommend Looking for Alaska by John Green!
It sounds like he is a really good writer and makes good choices while writing, over all it sounds like a really good book.
ReplyDeleteThat is an interesting strategy, I like the idea of using big descriptive words and then casual diction. It seems like a great way of keeping a character relatable while still providing vivid description.
ReplyDeleteYour books sounds very interesting and I think I might try it one day. Its nice that he mixes it up between formal and informal diction. I also like that he uses interesting words that we probably don't hear as much every day. It makes the text more interesting instead of using boring plain old every day words.
ReplyDeleteI just began reading this book and I love it! I like how descriptive you are and how you back up a lot of your thoughts with quotes.
ReplyDeleteThis book seems like a good read! You found some really good examples of writing craft. I know how much you love John Green, even though you didn't get him to visit our history class, but I can see you really enjoying his book!
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