Exactly how steamy is this story?
R
There is sexual content in Looking for Alaska, but like many teenagers's experiences, the encounters are pretty awkward. There's a lot of talk, but not a lot of action going on. Alaska mentions sex often, but she remains clothed throughout, and she's probably using the pleasure of sex to (rather ineffectually) bandaid a deep-seeded unhappiness. Miles thinks about and talks about sex, but he ultimately values emotional intimacy more than sexual intimacy, and while we know that several characters aren't virgins, the hanky-panky takes place off-screen.
Instead, sexual references are most often just that—references in conversations full of swearwords and sexual innuendo. However, because of the rhythm of the text and the development of the characters's relationships, we begin to understand that these sexual references aren't to place sex at the forefront of the characters' minds, but rather that they're just meant to deepen the bonds of friendship.
Also, the characters, especially Miles and Lara, know that coming to terms with their sexuality is strange and weird. They're just trying to make it less strange and less weird by talking about it more.
So the rating is somewhat deceiving: there's actually very little on-page sex or sexual experiences in the book. Of much more importance is why the author uses sex as a gateway into teenagers's development and psyche.
When Alaska and Miles watch and critique a pornographic video, most of the comments Alaska makes are about the objectification of women, laying the groundwork for her memorial prank. When Miles and Lara spend time in the TV room with The Brady Bunch, the descriptive language includes words like, "weird, nervous, quizzically, embarrassed." Afterward, they do homework. Clearly, John Green is trying to capture the awkwardness of budding sexuality.
Yes—there is a stripper at Speaker Day, but the close-to-nude Maxx simply gathers his clothes and leaves when told; his appearance isn't about sex at all, but about a prank that, like Alaska, will live forever in the minds of the students.