What is the society like in Looking for Alaska?

THe climate at the school is often cold and calculating. I found so many similarities to JD Salinger's famous book "Catcher in the Rye." The teen angst is almost palpable in looking for Alaska. The absence of parental guidance or nurturing adults intensifies a sense of isolation among the teenagers. Their destructive feud's with other groups of teens merely adds to their lack of direction.