Hello again! Now that we're finished with Looking for Alaska, it's time to start on the next John Green novel, probably his most popular, the Fault In Our Stars (named for the quote from Ceasar; "the fault, dear brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.")

Hello, everyone! Another week, another section, and this week I'm here to lead the discussion!
So, to quickly recap, Alaska was killed in a car crash, and now Pudge and Colonel are going about their time grieving and looking for answers as to what happened to her.

Now I have some questions for you.

• What do you think happened to Alaska? The Eagle said there was a jackknifed car and that she ran into it. Was she asleep? Was she drunk and her motor skills were hindered? Was she suicidal? I'm curious to see what you think. John Green himself said he doesn't know what happened, so I know everyone's opinion will be different and there are no wrong answers.
• What is the symbolism behind the "straight & fast" note in Alaska's book? Why did she write it in after her room was flooded?
• Pudge makes a lot of remarks on page 156 about why Alaska would have killed herself. ("About hurting me? About wanting me and not him?"/"...not thinking of her promise to me, not thinking of her father or anyone, and that bitch, that bitch, she killed herself.") Is this justified? Explain.

Another week has gone by and it's time for another round of posts. We're coming up on a crucial part of the book soon, and are going to stop just before the event happens. Last week we left off when Pudge was "pranked" by being duct taped and thrown into a lake, and Alaska promised to avenge him with an even more elaborate "pre-prank" that would get back at those who pranked Pudge.
But before we get to that, there are some other important parts to the story.
One night Alaska comes to Pudge's room sobbing, explaining rather vaguely about how she'd fucked up and she would never forgive herself. Pudge tries to console her and she tells him, "Don't you know who you love, Pudge? You love the girl who makes you laugh and shows you porn and drinks
wine with you. You don't love the crazy, sullen bitch."
The chapter leaves off there, and soon the students leave for Christmas break. Pudge recieves a wallet and a watch from his dad, and he talks about how his father never really gets sentimental.
The night began with Takumi, Colonel, Lara, Alaska, and Pudge, as they planned their adventure in a barn the night before, drinking cheap wine and smoking.
Their plan included leading their principal out of his house with fireworks while Lara put dye in the prankers' hair gel and Alaska and Colonel changed their grades. They go back to their hideout in a barn out back and have drinking games, discussing the best and worst days of their lives. Pudge and Lara make out in the middle of the night and agree to being an item. Of course, they suffer the inevitable hangover the next morning and return to life as normal.
Later on Alaska, Pudge and Colonel play a game of Truth or Dare on the grounds that Pudge had never played, and Alaska winds up daring him to hook up with her. So they did. And apparently it was awesome.
Alaska receives a call from Jake later that night. She becomes extremely distraught and begs her friends to help her leave. Pudge and Colonel are loyal friends and do not question her, distracting the principal while Alaska escapes.
And that is where we leave off. Alaska is gone, Colonel and Pudge had fallen asleep, and no one really knows what Alaska is up to.
Until next week.
~Audrey

Good Evening! Week one has come to a close, and it is my job as "Passage Person" to find meaningful, difficult, or interesting quotes and talk about them here. What better place to start than with one of the most commonly recurring themes-- the Great Perhaps.

"Hold on," I said. I went into Dad's study and found his biography of Frangois Rabelais. I liked reading biographies of writers, even if (as was the case with Monsieur Rabelais) I'd never read any of their actual writing.
I flipped to the back and found the highlighted quote ("NEVER USE A HIGHLIGHTER IN MY BOOKS," my dad had told me a thousand times. But how else are you supposed to find what you're looking for?).
 "So this guy," I said, standing in the doorway of the living room.
"Francois Rabelais. He was this poet. And his last words were 'I go to seek a Great Perhaps.' That's why I'm going. So I don't have to wait until I die to start seeking a Great Perhaps."

"No drugs. No drinking. No cigarettes." As an alumnus of Culver Creek, he had done the things I had only heard about: the secret parties, streaking through hay fields (he always whined about how it was all boys back then), drugs, drinking, and cigarettes. It had taken him a while to kick smoking, but his badass days were now well behind him.