atjudkins Review of Looking for Alaska

Looking for Alaska (2019)

Being that I've read the book 12 times I'd say they nailed the vibe, atmosphere, and characters

[10/10 · 19 October 2019]

I'm 3 episodes in and I'm actually stunned at how well they captured the tone of the book. I read it for the first time in 2010 and it's safe to say it's my favorite book being that I've read it 12 times and have most of the pages highlighted like a bible. I seem to have been waiting for a screen adaptation for nearly 10 years and somehow I never wanted it to get made, thinking that there was no way it could be at the caliber that I found the book. The show (as of the 3rd episode) has been damn near as moving and enthralling as the novel was for me. As hard and embarrassing as it is to admit I've been in love with Alaska since I was 13 and the actress (forgive me for forgetting her name) absolutely nailed her incredible, loving, profound, and as the Colonel puts it, moody personality. The whole cast, for that matter, is exactly how I imagined them way back in 2010. Pudge is just as awkwardly in enthralled with Alaska as he was in the book, and though most of feelings are internalized through thought in the story, I feel the actor who portrays him is right on the money. The Colonel, for me anyways, seems to have nailed (and in some ways surpassed) his character. Takumi's actor is also quite the stand out. Being funny and serious all when he needs to be. I'm glad that the creators of the show felt the same connection to the book as I did and so far it's pretty safe to say they knocked it out of the park.