Books Like Looking for Alaska

If you connected with Looking for Alaska because of its exploration of friendship, identity, and the shock of loss during the formative years of young adulthood, you may also find something familiar in my novels The Wake of Expectations and A Pleasant Fiction.

Rather than simply listing similarities, I wrote a short essay exploring how these books approach the same emotional territory from different points in life. Where Looking for Alaska captures the intensity of youth through its famous “Before” and “After” structure, my duology explores how those same friendships and formative experiences echo later in adulthood.

👉 Read the full essay: Before and After: How Looking for Alaska and My Duology Explore Coming of Age and Loss from Opposite Ends of Life