Looking fOr Alaska
Looking for Alaska opens as the narrator, Miles Halter, leaves his home in Florida to attend Culver Creek Preparatory High School in Alabama for his junior year. He uses Francois Rabelais’s last words—"I go to seek a Great Perhaps"—as his argument for choosing boarding school at such a late age. Miles is fond of reading biographies, and particularly of memorizing the subjects' last words.
Soon after arriving at Culver Creek, Miles meets his roommate, Chip "The Colonel" Martin. The Colonel soon provides Miles with his very own nickname: "Pudge," ironic as Miles is tall and slender. Miles is later introduced to the Colonel’s friend, Alaska Young. Alaska is described as an attractive yet emotionally unstable girl. Besides Alaska, the Colonel also introduces him to Takumi, a student of Japanese descent. Alaska tells Pudge about Simon Bolivar's last words, which were "Damn it. How will I ever get out of this labyrinth!" Miles asks her what the labyrinth is and she tells him that's the mystery. After they joke about Alaska having a boyfriend and Pudge being single they make a deal: if Miles figures out what the labyrinth is then Alaska will get him laid.
The eve of his first day at Culver Creek, (the school part),Pudge is grabbed out of his bed, duct-taped, and tossed into a nearby lake by the "Weekday Warriors," a group of rich Birmingham-area students of Culver Creek. The reason the Weekday Warriors duct-taped Pudge is because the year before one of their friends, Paul, had been expelled and they blamed the Colonel and his friends. Takumi insists this can't be possible because Marya, a friends of theirs, had also been expelled with him for committing three of Culver Creek's worst offenses: being naked in bed together, drunk, and smoking a joint. This argument incites a prank war between the Weekday Warriors and Pudge's group of friends. Alaska later admits she told on Marya and Paul to the dean of the school, Mr. Starnes, who The Colonel nicknamed 'The Eagle', to save herself from being expelled.
Alaska sets Pudge up with a girl, Lara. Lara came to America when she was twelve, and came from Romania. She had to translate everything to her parents because she was the only one in her family who knew English. Pudge and Lara have a disastrous date, which ends with Pudge having a mild concussion and throwing up on Lara's pants. Alaska and Pudge drink, smoke, and do many things together, causing him to fall in love with her, despite the complications of their relationships. The Colonel and Alaska have been planning a pre-prank to lull the Warriors into a state of peace. The weekend of the pre-prank Pudge and his friends head to the old barn by the school. Takumi and Pudge light firecrackers by the Eagle's house, causing him to run after them. The Colonel and Alaska would change the Warriors' grades on their report cards. And, finally, Lara put blue dye in the Warriors' shampoo and hair gel. The next day, while they're still at the barn, they drink, smoke and try to pass the time. While inebriated, Alaska tells them about her mother's death from an aneurysm when she was eight years old. She feels guilty for not calling 911, though she did not understand what was happening at the time. Pudge figures that her mother's death made Alaska impulsive and rash. He concluded that the labyrinth was a person's suffering and that we must find our way out. When they return to school, the Colonel and Alaska celebrate their prank by drinking every night of the next week. On the last night of these 'celebrations', Alaska dares Pudge to "hook up" with her, and they begin making out. After warnings from an intoxicated Colonel, she stops, telling him she's too sleepy, and they can leave it "to be continued". Then they all fell asleep. Alaska received a phone call in the middle of the night that leaves her hysterically crying and tells her friends she has to leave. The Colonel and Pudge help Alaska drive off school premises by setting off the remaining fire crackers from the initial prank on the Weekday Warriors. Alaska drives away, still drunk. She eventually crashes into a police cruiser at the scene of a truck accident on the highway, the steering wheel crushing her chest, & killing her almost instantly.
In the morning, the Eagle held an assembly, telling the students of Alaska's death. The Colonel and Pudge feel horrible, feeling they helped her death by letting her go. They find out the only way it could have happened was if she tried to squeeze through the truck and a police cruiser or if she did it on purpose, committing suicide. This causes them to wonder if they really are to blame or not. If she did commit suicide, then the Colonel believes she was selfish in making them help her. The Colonel insists on questioning Jake, her boyfriend, but Pudge refuses to, still clinging to the hope that Alaska wanted to be with him. They argue, the Colonel saying Pudge only loved the 'fun' side of Alaska, not all of her. Afterward, they make up, with Pudge realizing it's true and the Colonel confessing he's just angry and looking for someone to blame. They've been ignoring Takumi and Lara for a long time and apologize to them too (though Lara and Pudge don't seem to get back together). As a way of celebrating Alaska's life they plan the last prank. On Speaker Day the junior and senior classes are supposed to choose someone—a lawyer or small politician—to come speak to them. All of the junior class—Weekday Warriors, Pudge's friends, and everyone else—help with the prank. They convince the Eagle to let a friend of Pudge's dad to come speak of how sex is perceived by adolescents. In reality they hire a male stripper. When the man starts to give his speech Takumi starts the music. The man shouts “This one's for Alaska Young!” and strips in front of everyone. The whole school finds it hilarious, even the Eagle who doesn't punish them. Pudge finds Alaska's copy of The General in his Labyrinth with the labyrinth quote underlined. In the margin was written 'straight and fast'. Later they remember what date Alaska's mom had died and realize Alaska died the morning after. They figure one of two things happened. Alaska remembered the anniversary of her mother's death and came to the room sobbing that she had to go, referring to her mother's grave. But it was already after midnight, the next day. She was drunk and angry at herself. When she saw the truck and the police cruiser she was either drunk enough that she thought she could pass through or she was so angry with herself that she committed suicide, taking the 'straight and fast' way out. The last day of school Takumi confesses in a note that he was the last person to see Alaska alive, he let her go too. Pudge realizes that this doesn't matter, their letting her go doesn't matter as much anymore. He forgives Alaska for going and knows that she forgives him for letting her go. He'll always love her, present tense.
Soon after arriving at Culver Creek, Miles meets his roommate, Chip "The Colonel" Martin. The Colonel soon provides Miles with his very own nickname: "Pudge," ironic as Miles is tall and slender. Miles is later introduced to the Colonel’s friend, Alaska Young. Alaska is described as an attractive yet emotionally unstable girl. Besides Alaska, the Colonel also introduces him to Takumi, a student of Japanese descent. Alaska tells Pudge about Simon Bolivar's last words, which were "Damn it. How will I ever get out of this labyrinth!" Miles asks her what the labyrinth is and she tells him that's the mystery. After they joke about Alaska having a boyfriend and Pudge being single they make a deal: if Miles figures out what the labyrinth is then Alaska will get him laid.
The eve of his first day at Culver Creek, (the school part),Pudge is grabbed out of his bed, duct-taped, and tossed into a nearby lake by the "Weekday Warriors," a group of rich Birmingham-area students of Culver Creek. The reason the Weekday Warriors duct-taped Pudge is because the year before one of their friends, Paul, had been expelled and they blamed the Colonel and his friends. Takumi insists this can't be possible because Marya, a friends of theirs, had also been expelled with him for committing three of Culver Creek's worst offenses: being naked in bed together, drunk, and smoking a joint. This argument incites a prank war between the Weekday Warriors and Pudge's group of friends. Alaska later admits she told on Marya and Paul to the dean of the school, Mr. Starnes, who The Colonel nicknamed 'The Eagle', to save herself from being expelled.
Alaska sets Pudge up with a girl, Lara. Lara came to America when she was twelve, and came from Romania. She had to translate everything to her parents because she was the only one in her family who knew English. Pudge and Lara have a disastrous date, which ends with Pudge having a mild concussion and throwing up on Lara's pants. Alaska and Pudge drink, smoke, and do many things together, causing him to fall in love with her, despite the complications of their relationships. The Colonel and Alaska have been planning a pre-prank to lull the Warriors into a state of peace. The weekend of the pre-prank Pudge and his friends head to the old barn by the school. Takumi and Pudge light firecrackers by the Eagle's house, causing him to run after them. The Colonel and Alaska would change the Warriors' grades on their report cards. And, finally, Lara put blue dye in the Warriors' shampoo and hair gel. The next day, while they're still at the barn, they drink, smoke and try to pass the time. While inebriated, Alaska tells them about her mother's death from an aneurysm when she was eight years old. She feels guilty for not calling 911, though she did not understand what was happening at the time. Pudge figures that her mother's death made Alaska impulsive and rash. He concluded that the labyrinth was a person's suffering and that we must find our way out. When they return to school, the Colonel and Alaska celebrate their prank by drinking every night of the next week. On the last night of these 'celebrations', Alaska dares Pudge to "hook up" with her, and they begin making out. After warnings from an intoxicated Colonel, she stops, telling him she's too sleepy, and they can leave it "to be continued". Then they all fell asleep. Alaska received a phone call in the middle of the night that leaves her hysterically crying and tells her friends she has to leave. The Colonel and Pudge help Alaska drive off school premises by setting off the remaining fire crackers from the initial prank on the Weekday Warriors. Alaska drives away, still drunk. She eventually crashes into a police cruiser at the scene of a truck accident on the highway, the steering wheel crushing her chest, & killing her almost instantly.
In the morning, the Eagle held an assembly, telling the students of Alaska's death. The Colonel and Pudge feel horrible, feeling they helped her death by letting her go. They find out the only way it could have happened was if she tried to squeeze through the truck and a police cruiser or if she did it on purpose, committing suicide. This causes them to wonder if they really are to blame or not. If she did commit suicide, then the Colonel believes she was selfish in making them help her. The Colonel insists on questioning Jake, her boyfriend, but Pudge refuses to, still clinging to the hope that Alaska wanted to be with him. They argue, the Colonel saying Pudge only loved the 'fun' side of Alaska, not all of her. Afterward, they make up, with Pudge realizing it's true and the Colonel confessing he's just angry and looking for someone to blame. They've been ignoring Takumi and Lara for a long time and apologize to them too (though Lara and Pudge don't seem to get back together). As a way of celebrating Alaska's life they plan the last prank. On Speaker Day the junior and senior classes are supposed to choose someone—a lawyer or small politician—to come speak to them. All of the junior class—Weekday Warriors, Pudge's friends, and everyone else—help with the prank. They convince the Eagle to let a friend of Pudge's dad to come speak of how sex is perceived by adolescents. In reality they hire a male stripper. When the man starts to give his speech Takumi starts the music. The man shouts “This one's for Alaska Young!” and strips in front of everyone. The whole school finds it hilarious, even the Eagle who doesn't punish them. Pudge finds Alaska's copy of The General in his Labyrinth with the labyrinth quote underlined. In the margin was written 'straight and fast'. Later they remember what date Alaska's mom had died and realize Alaska died the morning after. They figure one of two things happened. Alaska remembered the anniversary of her mother's death and came to the room sobbing that she had to go, referring to her mother's grave. But it was already after midnight, the next day. She was drunk and angry at herself. When she saw the truck and the police cruiser she was either drunk enough that she thought she could pass through or she was so angry with herself that she committed suicide, taking the 'straight and fast' way out. The last day of school Takumi confesses in a note that he was the last person to see Alaska alive, he let her go too. Pudge realizes that this doesn't matter, their letting her go doesn't matter as much anymore. He forgives Alaska for going and knows that she forgives him for letting her go. He'll always love her, present tense.
Paper Towns
Paper Towns takes place in Orlando, Florida. The novel begins in a subdivision called Jefferson Park. The narrator, Quentin "Q" Jacobsen, and his neighbor Margo Roth Spiegelman, both young children, go to the park and discover the corpse of Robert Joyner, a divorced man who has committed suicide. The novel then flashes forward to Quentin and Margo as high schoolers who have grown apart. In the middle of a random night Margo shows up at Quentin’s bedroom window dressed like a ninja, with black face paint and black clothes. She convinces him to sneak out and help her get revenge on people she feels have hurt her.
The first characters they visit are Margo’s ex-boyfriend Jase and the girl with whom he was cheating on Margo, Becca. Quentin calls Becca's parents to inform them about their daughter having sex with Jase. As Jase attempts to escape, Quentin takes a picture of him. Then, Quentin and Margo break into Becca's home, graffiti a blue ‘M’ on her wall, and leave a dead catfish for her. The second person they visit is Karin, a character mentioned only once throughout the story. They leave her a bouquet of flowers, as she is the character who informed Margo that her boyfriend was cheating on her. Upon hearing the news, Margo cursed her in disbelief. After that they go to Jase’s house, break in and leave him a fish and a blue ‘M’. They then visit a character named Lacey, who becomes a more prominent character in the last half of the book. Margo felt that Lacey had never been a good friend to her, and that she had ridiculed her too often and made backhand comments that were truly meant as insults. They leave a fish for her in her car and graffiti a blue ‘M’ on the roof of her car. At 3:15 in the morning, they enter the SunTrust bank building and they relax on one of the higher floors for a short while. This is the first time Margo calls their town a "paper town", describing it as “fake” and “not even hard enough to be made of plastic”. Once they leave the SunTrust building, Margo asks Q on whom he would like to get revenge, and he chooses the high school bully Chuck Parson. Margo and Q sneak into his house, remove one of Chuck’s eyebrows with hair removal cream, and slather Vaseline on all of the door handles in his house. After getting revenge on Chuck they break intoSeaWorld, but leave disappointed because none of the animals are in their showcases.
Margo and Q return to their homes close to the time they are supposed to be getting up in the morning to go to school. The next day at school all Q thinks about is how things have changed. He wonders if Margo will start hanging out with him and his friends, Ben and Radar, but Margo doesn’t show up to school that day. After Margo has been missing for three days her parents file a report. Margo has run away four times in the past so her parents are more frustrated than worried. After learning that Margo has run away, Q notices a poster of Woody Guthrie taped to the back of her shades. The poster leads him to a song called Walt Whitman's Niece, which, in turn, leads him to a book of poems, Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. The poem has highlighted sections that Q believes to be clues left by Margo to lead him to where she is. Q continues to search for clues and finds an address scrawled on a small piece of paper located on his door. Hoping it will lead them to where she is hiding, Q and his friends skip school the following day and go to the place on the piece of paper. They find an old abandoned mini-mall which contains evidence that Margo was recently there, as well as a spray-painted message on the wall that leads him to believe she has committed suicide, and expects him to find her body.
Eventually the clues lead Q to believe that Margo may be hiding out (or buried) in one of the many abandoned subdivision projects around Orlando; what Q’s mother likes to call "pseudovisions". He drives to all of the pseudovisions where he feels she may be hiding, but has no luck locating her. While getting ready for graduation, Q makes a connection using a map he found searching for her, which leads him to discover that Margo has been hiding in a fictional town in New York called Agloe, which was created as a copyright trap by mapmakers. Q, Radar, Ben, and Lacey all opt to skip graduation to drive to New York to search for her. They make the drive from Orlando, Florida to Agloe, New York in just shy of twenty-four hours. They find Margo living in an old dilapidated barn. But instead of being grateful for them finding her, she reacts negatively. Margo had not intended for them to find her. Angry that Margo is not grateful for all their efforts to find her, Radar, Ben, and Lacey leave and spend the night at a motel. Q stays behind and talks things over with Margo. She decides to go to New York City. Margo and Q kiss and Q wants to stay with her but it's implied that he will return home with his friends in the end, possibly to reunite some time in the future, but it is ultimately left ambiguous.
The first characters they visit are Margo’s ex-boyfriend Jase and the girl with whom he was cheating on Margo, Becca. Quentin calls Becca's parents to inform them about their daughter having sex with Jase. As Jase attempts to escape, Quentin takes a picture of him. Then, Quentin and Margo break into Becca's home, graffiti a blue ‘M’ on her wall, and leave a dead catfish for her. The second person they visit is Karin, a character mentioned only once throughout the story. They leave her a bouquet of flowers, as she is the character who informed Margo that her boyfriend was cheating on her. Upon hearing the news, Margo cursed her in disbelief. After that they go to Jase’s house, break in and leave him a fish and a blue ‘M’. They then visit a character named Lacey, who becomes a more prominent character in the last half of the book. Margo felt that Lacey had never been a good friend to her, and that she had ridiculed her too often and made backhand comments that were truly meant as insults. They leave a fish for her in her car and graffiti a blue ‘M’ on the roof of her car. At 3:15 in the morning, they enter the SunTrust bank building and they relax on one of the higher floors for a short while. This is the first time Margo calls their town a "paper town", describing it as “fake” and “not even hard enough to be made of plastic”. Once they leave the SunTrust building, Margo asks Q on whom he would like to get revenge, and he chooses the high school bully Chuck Parson. Margo and Q sneak into his house, remove one of Chuck’s eyebrows with hair removal cream, and slather Vaseline on all of the door handles in his house. After getting revenge on Chuck they break intoSeaWorld, but leave disappointed because none of the animals are in their showcases.
Margo and Q return to their homes close to the time they are supposed to be getting up in the morning to go to school. The next day at school all Q thinks about is how things have changed. He wonders if Margo will start hanging out with him and his friends, Ben and Radar, but Margo doesn’t show up to school that day. After Margo has been missing for three days her parents file a report. Margo has run away four times in the past so her parents are more frustrated than worried. After learning that Margo has run away, Q notices a poster of Woody Guthrie taped to the back of her shades. The poster leads him to a song called Walt Whitman's Niece, which, in turn, leads him to a book of poems, Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. The poem has highlighted sections that Q believes to be clues left by Margo to lead him to where she is. Q continues to search for clues and finds an address scrawled on a small piece of paper located on his door. Hoping it will lead them to where she is hiding, Q and his friends skip school the following day and go to the place on the piece of paper. They find an old abandoned mini-mall which contains evidence that Margo was recently there, as well as a spray-painted message on the wall that leads him to believe she has committed suicide, and expects him to find her body.
Eventually the clues lead Q to believe that Margo may be hiding out (or buried) in one of the many abandoned subdivision projects around Orlando; what Q’s mother likes to call "pseudovisions". He drives to all of the pseudovisions where he feels she may be hiding, but has no luck locating her. While getting ready for graduation, Q makes a connection using a map he found searching for her, which leads him to discover that Margo has been hiding in a fictional town in New York called Agloe, which was created as a copyright trap by mapmakers. Q, Radar, Ben, and Lacey all opt to skip graduation to drive to New York to search for her. They make the drive from Orlando, Florida to Agloe, New York in just shy of twenty-four hours. They find Margo living in an old dilapidated barn. But instead of being grateful for them finding her, she reacts negatively. Margo had not intended for them to find her. Angry that Margo is not grateful for all their efforts to find her, Radar, Ben, and Lacey leave and spend the night at a motel. Q stays behind and talks things over with Margo. She decides to go to New York City. Margo and Q kiss and Q wants to stay with her but it's implied that he will return home with his friends in the end, possibly to reunite some time in the future, but it is ultimately left ambiguous.
*Side note-these plot summaries are not ones I created myself. I got them from Wikipedia and added them for the sole purpose of making the rest of my blog more understandable