A streaming mini-series review
By David Josselyn
What happens when you bring reality into a coming of age story? You may get something akin to “Looking for Alaska,” an eight-part mini-series now streaming on Hulu based on the critically acclaimed and controversial book by John Green. The book, and consequently the mini-series, is controversial due to its depiction of sex, smoking, and vulgarity; the trifecta of the teenage experience. Green pulls no punches on how many teens view and participate in each of these three which makes his work both compelling and real, also accosted with hostile reactions from more conservative parents and educators. Even though this book has been banned from several school districts and libraries, the story is useful in giving readers a foundation for hope and strength when their world falls apart. John Green is the author of several young-adult novels including “The Fault in Our Stars” and “Paper Towns.” With movie theaters not opening until possibly the middle of 2021, I decided to check out this highly rated mini-series for myself and after the first episode, I was intrigued by the story and the characters and binged the remaining seven one-hour episodes in three viewing sessions. I have never read the book, so this commentary comes from the bias of the Hulu mini-series only.
Support authors and subscribe to content
Subscribe to read the entire article.
