About THAT Scene in Looking for Alaska

[@vlogbrothers]

Read banned books. The irony is that my new book, Everything Is Tuberculosis, describes a world vastly more obscene than anything in Looking for Alaska, but it won't get banned because there's no sex. Anyway, you can preorder a signed copy now at everythingistb.com -John

[@LikelyToBeEatenByAGrue]

@@vlogbrothers I wouldn't be too sure. There's a vaccine for tb after all. Have you seen our incoming healthcare leaders?

[@Immakugleblitz]

How long before the preorder ends? There's a post workers strike in my area and I don't want to order anything untill after it ends.

[@SaltedSnacks]

Hi John, this video makes a very good argument against not only the banning of this book, but banning of books in general. I was wondering if it might be possible to publish a version of this video without the typical vlogbrothers intro and things that could be more easily shown to places like school boards and teachers, as I think it could be useful in that context, but having to explain things like you addressing Hank might be distracting. Thanks!

[@untappedinkwell]

@@Immakugleblitz The book releases March 18, so you have time!

[@carolinec5010]

My AP English teacher had a whole section on banned books in high school! We had to pick three from the list to read and then write an essay on if they deserved to be banned. The only one we all agreed on was Ulysses by James Joyce, not because of the sexual content mind you but because it was a terrible slog to get through.

[@onebenclark]

The year is 2008, I am watching John Green discuss the banning of his book Looking for Alaska, the importance of context to understanding meaning, and believing in teenagers' capacity to think and understand. The year is 2016, I am watching John Green discuss the banning of his book Looking for Alaska, the importance of context to understanding meaning, and believing in teenagers' capacity to think and understand. The year is 2024, I am watching John Green discuss the banning of his book Looking for Alaska, the importance of context to understanding meaning, and believing in teenagers' capacity to think and understand.

[@untappedinkwell]

+++ My first vlogbrothers video was John Green discussing the banning of his book Looking for Alaska, the importance of context to understanding meaning, and believing in teenagers' capacity to think and understand.

[@00ME22]

See ya in 2032 🫡

[@sandbridgekid4121]

Book Banning is not about Children or Books. It's about Religious and Political Fascism. Control.

[@SilverLikeStarlight]

He's gotta say it every so often to make sure people see it!

[@RachelWolfe]

very succinctly put

[@NabPunk]

"It's not books they find obscene, it's reality." - That one's got to go in the books now.

[@jliller]

Reality IS obscene.

[@exeggcutertimur6091]

Reality can be obscene. We will all do our part to fix it. We will not hide it. Never forget.

[@mjrasco]

Yes. And it needs to go on merch. I want the t-shirt, sticker, and pin to wear to schools where I work.

[@NabPunk]

@@jliller True, but cowering in it's wake is not how we move forward, we must accept it for what it is and solve problems, not hide them.

[@JoshuaCasey]

We really need to abolish obscenity laws

[@Izzy-Maurer]

I read that scene when I was about 12 or 13, and I don't even remember it. I remember the parts of the book that were actually impactful, as they were supposed to be.

[@tinadorr-kapczynski7480]

same!

[@dragonflies6793]

I read The Magicians when I was probably 10 and the sex meant nothing to me. I related to Quentin because he was smart and used books as escapism and wanted magic to be real.

[@sarahmickel4921]

@@Izzy-Maurer Exactly! When I read it at 13, it actually discouraged me from it because it sounded horrific. After reading books from authors like Nicholas Sparks, having a more authentic scene to what awkward teenagers actually experience when experimenting with sexuality was enough for me to go “Oh, yikes!” and move on.

[@kabine1]

So that scene doesn’t need to be in the book?

[@adellaaverill5670]

@kabine1 No, it does need to be in there, because it underscores the depth of intimacy and romance available WITHOUT sex. In our world we are bombarded with messages that sex is the end all-be all of intimacy, which isn't true, and teens need to be taught that there is more to it than simply putting an organ in ones mouth.

[@bat_manda]

I lost a close friend to suicide when we were both 16. The idea that teens aren’t smart or mature enough to read books about grief and loss isn’t just insulting-it ignores the reality that those are things they actually deal with.

[@untappedinkwell]

+++

[@simonsaysism]

John's reply to a 2014 tumblr ask about his reaction to LFA being banned by a certain school district: "I am happy because apparently young people in Riverside, California will never witness or experience mortality since they won't be reading my book, which is great for them."

[@R.Daneel]

Proof that the moms in moms for (bile raising) "liberty" don't have children.

[@elainebelzDetroit]

I'm so sorry that happened, and I hope/trust the grief ultimately didn't rob you of all the good your friend brought to your life. Thank you for sharing this, too.

[@shelbyaw0363]

I dealt with suicide and suicidal ideation from myself and my peers more as a teenager than as an adult. As an adult I do not have any friends coming to me wanting to die but as a teen this was a regular occurrence. Sheltering teens from reality won't stop them from feeling these feelings just from knowing how to deal with them. Thank you for sharing your story.

[@LikelyToBeEatenByAGrue]

I don't know, ive been a bit suspicious of pigs since middle school.

[@holli3716]

You should be. They're grade a assholes I've literally never walked through a pig pen and NOT had one bite me

[@holli3716]

I effing hate pigs

[@CarrotConsumer]

I've never trusted chickens myself.

[@zephyr-m1w]

​@@CarrotConsumer Chickens are fine. Geese tho...

[@SylviaRustyFae]

Be wary of their porcine lust for power!

[@Jennaesis]

As a librarian, a teen once told me they wanted to read about things like race and sex and drugs in books so they could learn from the characters instead of risking their own life. Teens are smart and curious. They deserve credit.

[@brookeworley5140]

+

[@nielskorpel8860]

+

[@eivore5081]

+

[@darkcreatureinadarkroom1617]

+

[@itisdevonly]

+

[@Daliachan]

Teenagers are old enough to have babies, but too young to read anything describing the making of the babies

[@TheKrispyfort]

Apparently

[@TheDanishGuyReviews]

And that's why they have babies.

[@TheKrispyfort]

@@TheDanishGuyReviews nah, my teen parents deliberately conceived me. Then again, ignored, neglected, and abused teens aren't exactly known for being able to make sound decisions about their own futures, let alone the baby's

[@dark_neverland]

Don't forget they're also too young to know their own gender & sexuality....unless it's cishet.....

[@Storm-j8u]

Cool, talk to your own child about it, not someone else’s

[@kendrameerkat]

Took “library aide” as an elective in high school in the 2010s. One day the librarian asked me to take a list of commonly banned books, find all the ones we had, and make a nice big display of them in front of the checkout desk with a “Read Banned Books” sign. I read as many as I could that year.

[@tbella5186]

I LOVE that!

[@kesleta7697]

We had the same thing at my high school

[@General12th]

I can imagine how a parent might wander into the school library, take one look at that checkout desk, and raise a _righteous_ fury that brings the whole district to its knees.

[@yeahbutthendragons152]

My school did the same thing!

[@nielskorpel8860]

Genius. That'll get the kids reading.

[@toxicbagel]

Hello, John! I'm honored to let you know that, just last month, a small but passionate group of bookworms and I spoke in defense of Looking for Alaska at my local school district. After both challenge and an appeal, I am proud to say that my second favorite censored writer from Indianapolis will remain on the library shelves where he belongs. Thank you for all that you've done and continue to do. 💜 -- June B.

[@Man-ej6uv]

that's great!!!!

[@SlowMonoxide]

Who's your favorite?

[@toxicbagel]

@@SlowMonoxide Kurt Vonnegut Jr is my absolute favorite writer. The year was 2008. Vonnegut had just died a year prior. I had only gotten two books into my senior year reading list for high school literature when I decided I'd rather lay face down in the bus circle than finish the list. Grapes of Wrath was just simply unreadable for me. Anyway, my lit teacher asked what kind of stories inspired me. She had Slaughterhouse Five sitting on my desk within minutes. My life hasn't been the same since. Ms Bryan, if you're reading this, thank you for changing my life. So it goes.

[@PearlAlex]

Thank you! ❤

[@bb_ghosty]

@@toxicbagel🥹🥹🥹

[@BaileyMarieBernadette]

As a Catholic Christian, born and raised, At first my mom was infuriated that I read this book my junior year of HS. Then I asked her to read it to because it profoundly impacted me and made me really think about the complex reality of relationship and how YES even as high schoolers, we feel deeply. And she read it, and she loved it, and apologized. It is truly a Christian valued book at its core and I’m thankful for you and your writing and for a mom who was willing to listen and be changed by stories.

[@lisahislop6839]

I am crying now.

[@elainebelzDetroit]

That is so cool. I love when parents or teachers are willing to re-think their opinions and even learn from teens. It's a wonderful thing for them to model, too - changing your mind when presented with new information & accepting insight from kids (which takes humility-and rewards it).

[@Storm-j8u]

You most definitely are not Catholic

[@Storm-j8u]

You support abortion, you ain’t Catholic

[@elainebelzDetroit]

@@Storm-j8u You can't say that. Unless...are you the Pope? or Jesus?

[@zebracorn9184]

The copy of looking for Alaska at my school has a note in the back “every freshman should read this.” and someone else in another ink color crossed out “freshman” and wrote “person”

[@erinmcdonald7781]

That’s awesome. I find it touching on a human level when a student or person leaves a genuine note to the future readers.

[@WS12658]

this sounds like it was taken directly from a popular tumblr post

[@zebracorn9184]

@@WS12658 ? I’m confused are you saying I’m lying?

[@dannnyc93]

Weird, I went to a fundamentalist christian school full of the “moms for liberty” type and yet there were tons of teenagers there who drank, smoked and had sex despite the school never promoting any books where those things happen. “Offended by reality” indeed.

[@lambentlamprey]

But, but...'Moms for Liberty'-type kids are GOOD kids. They would never/jk

[@dark_neverland]

It's almost as if trying to control young people's behaviors has no bearing on whether the young people are going to do the thing or not (and in fact usually results in them doing it more anyway). It also puts these young people more at risk which is why you have higher rates of stis and higher rates of teen pregnancies and drug/substance use & abuse...

[@Storm-j8u]

So that means we should promote that behavior? 😂 what point are you making? What’s the point of laws? People break them anyways

[@dannnyc93]

@@Storm-j8u No? Did you even watch the video?? It's literally about your comment. If there is a book, movie or show that portrays teenagers engaging in those behaviors it doesn't necessarily mean that piece of media is "promoting" that behavior, that behavior simply happens in life and so therefore it would be dishonest for books and movies to pretend like it doesn't. Pretending like it doesn't happen actually does more damage because for example if everyone acts like teens don't have sex then they won't bother explaining to teens how to avoid getting pregnant or catching an STI, or in John's case as he eloquently mentioned the scene is actually meant to show how intimacy can be much deeper at times WITHOUT sex, which is why the sex scene is so awkward in LfA but the scene with just a kiss is described with so much detail.

[@Storm-j8u]

Doesn’t have to ”promote” the behavior for it to be completely unnecessary to the story 😂 again, why do you need kids to read about bjs so badly?

[@sarahmickel4921]

Thank you for this. As a relatively new librarian and library administrator (still not sure how that happened), this nuanced take over controlling an adolescent’s right to read is lovely. Thank you for sharing.

[@conqu2]

Proud to be an Illinoisan, where we were first to outlaw book bans!

[@thechonus3858]

Thanks to State Senator Mike Simmons, who I'm proud to be represented by - go 7th District!

[@KaytiQuickSilver]

It’s kind of insulting to me as a teacher that we pay thousands of dollars for a bachelors degree in education, spend a large part of our time in profession development to stay up to date with education research, spend time outside of work to plan and grade, spend our own money on supplies we need to teach lessons with because the school declined to pay for them- and we are still treated like we cannot be trusted with our students and have to micromanaged the entire year. Not to mention the fact that we see our kiddos struggling to keep with learning academically and socially, but there is nothing we can do about it.

[@blarghblargh]

a kid with informed and invested teachers has a much better chance than a kid without. thank you for what you do.

[@hopewilliard6781]

Ugh, that sounds so frustrating! Wishing you good moments with your students and their families. I’ve been lucky to have a lot of good teachers and you definitely sound like you’re one of them. Best of luck to you out there!

[@nicolefess7227]

Looking for Alaska has been banned from my old high school, but I loved that copy because in the back there were discussion questions for students and students interviewing you. You and Hank have inspired me to become a teacher. Thank you for all your work.

[@TJtheBee]

This comment made another Nerdfighter smile - me! :) We need more teachers with good thought in this world.

[@MsScree1]

Yay!

[@LivieBelll]

My copy (which I probably got in 2014 or 2015) has the q&a questions! I also remember my family talking about the book being banned when I got it and whether or not I should be reading it

[@hopewilliard6781]

Thank you for your work!

[@iplayminecwaft261]

Almost a year ago, a student at my school died. Based on the manner of death and the circumstances, there was no conceivable logical explanation for it to have been anything but a suicide. And yet, a part of me held out a belief that it was just an incredibly strange accident Then I learned, a couple weeks before I read Looking for Alaska, that he had left a note. Looking for Alaska hit incredibly close to home for me. It helped me fully process his death. It very well might be the book that has caused me the most tears (challenged only by Book Thief) Thank you, John, for allowing me the opportunity to read about Pudge’s journey. Alaska, you may not be real, but within your world you are missed And Riley, we miss you. Fly high buddy.

[@jaithewizard]

My uncle gave me a copy of this book when i was in middle school and it's been important to me every day since. It introduced me to the idea of choosing your own name, which i later did when i came out

[@adellaaverill5670]

Congrats on your name! I chose mine too, it was an amazingly affirming action for me!

[@quilynn]

Alaska also sparked some curiosity for me when it came to choosing my own name, which I ended up doing around 10 years later.

[@the_ellieverse]

As a YA & YS librarian, yes. A thousand times yes. Also, I read this book in the 9th grade and immediately understood the juxtaposition of this clumsy awkward scene versus real and genuine intimacy, that it wasn't the act itself as much as the connection you have with the person you're interacting with. As a young and inexperienced teen, this was, in fact, a great lesson for my young self to have.

[@bknesheim]

How do a book like "Go Ask Alice" fare in US high schools?

[@ktyy777]

what does YS mean? I’m only familiar with the YA term

[@minerscale]

@@ktyy777 ~~Young Sheldon~~

[@the_ellieverse]

@ktyy777 In the library world, YS means Youth Services. Some library systems will couple youth and teens together, while others split them into separate departments. Regardless, we all work together to make sure we're encouraging literacy and provide fun, educational programming for patrons big and small! Your local library is a magical place, I promise. ✨️

[@the_ellieverse]

@@bknesheim I personally didn't attend a school where that novel was a part of our curriculum. Some schools ban it while others use it as a way of teaching students the dangers of drug use. It's another contentious novel here. 🤷

[@lindsayrigby707]

Looking for Alaska changed my life. It was a recommendation by my middle school librarian, who is now one of my close friends. It was 2008 and I was experiencing great grief when I read the book, though of a different flavor - my parents were separating, and my father had moved abroad, and there had been violence in my home. I was 13, and I loved Alaska (I was aspiring to be a mysterious and wanted person myself despite my great nerdiness and my basically-subtitled facial expressions). And the book devastated me, and I immediately checked out An Abundance of Katherines, and my librarian said, "You know, I just went to see the author of this book - he and his brother started this video project online." And here I am, over half my life later. It boils my blood that groups are banding together to stop librarians, like mine all those years ago, from making their best recommendations for teenagers based on their expertise and understanding. The only reason I know what you mean when you say "THAT Scene" is that I've been in Nerdfighteria since 2008 and remember the first time Alaska was banned - otherwise, my brain would go to the pond or the daisy or the kiss or the McDonalds or any of the other meaningful moments of connection and grief within.

[@browncesario]

looking for alaska has brought so much hope and clarity into my life. i have to believe its legacy is so much bigger than this.

[@exeggcutertimur6091]

If it's any consolation, it getting banned for dubious reasons is free advertisement. Also, if there's one thing that teens do best it's doing stuff BECAUSE it is forbidden. Or maybe that was just me heh.

[@browncesario]

edited to the proper form of “its” and lost the channel like :(

[@exeggcutertimur6091]

Its best to not correct there grammer on the internet. Youda waste ur time.

[@clairellynsommersmith915]

As a public librarian, this may be my favorite video on this topic because it gets to the heart of my rage against book bans. The world is what it is, in all its complexities and any effort to ban some identities and stories over others is a misguided as best and hateful at worst, attempt to change reality.

[@minutes8354]

I just did a school essay about book banning, and I used “On the banning of looking for Alaska” as the main basis for the argument. Right after I turn it in, you release another video that would’ve been really helpful for my argument!

[@TheKrispyfort]

At least you know you were making a good argument

[@creeperdude1]

make an amended version and hand it in and maybe you'll even get extra credit for it

[@isaiahdenver4224]

Hey John, I can relate to you. When I was in high school, my classmates and I put on a production of a play called Almost, Maine. Our principal tried to cancel the show because in one scene, for less than a minute, two males are meant to hold hands. The principal never said anything about the finale of the show in which a male and female strip and elude to having sex together. No, it was the two fully clothed males reaching out for one another. We were forced to scrap the hand holding, except on the last night of show when they held hands and went for a kiss in defiance before a blackout transition lol

[@WonderMotion]

I love almost Maine and got to be in both of those scenes in high school :) it's great stuff!!

[@tjdime]

Sometimes the student must educate the teacher...parents are also teachers and should educate thier young about sex, love, hate, etc...seems to be a lost art now..

[@coolkumquats]

Ironically, banning it had the opposite effect to what the principal intended. You and your classmates probably wouldn't have thought much of that scene until the principal called attention to it, and, being teenagers, you all took pleasure in making the final show an act of rebellion. Defiance of arbitrary rules like that is like catnip to teenagers! 😂

[@robertneal4244]

"Looking For Alaska" made me cry. "Paper Towns" made me laugh and be hopeful. "A Fault in Our Stars" did all three. Thank you.

[@JaimeWay]

All three made me do all three 😭

[@veronicastargazer]

I read it as an adult. I had very unhealthy coping skills before, and I felt like I woke up out of decades of numbness. That book changed my life for the better. As a recovered drug addict, thank you.

[@brightknight1965]

I remember growing up and my school library have a “banned books” week where we celebrated that these books could not be kept from us and we discussed why someone would want to ban and book and how it’s so important that an individual’s objection is not grounds for removing access. This was the early 2000s in Texas and I can’t believe how far we have moved backwards from those times. My kids will always read banned books and we will always discuss why bans are disastrous for a community committed to truth and learning and inclusion.

[@madebyboys]

"Hope and forgiveness are available to all people at all times" moved (lurched) me to tears in a way I wasn't expecting - thank you xx

[@Jamesssssssssssssss]

I read that book when i was in 10th grade. Around the same time a group of kids from my school passed away in a homecoming car accident. Looking for Alaska helped me come to terms with and grieve my friend who passed away in said accident. That book was there for me when I was alone, I felt less alone . Thank you

[@labellaflora....]

I don't know how long ago the tragedy happened, but I'm still sorry for your loss. A good friend of my brother's committed suicide in high school and he was devastated for quite a while. Bless your heart.

[@velveetacheesy5147]

As someone who read Looking for Alaska as an adult, it was very quickly put on a list of books I would suggest to my children to read and a book that my 14 y.o now loves just as much as I did.

[@katrinasammons1448]

I read Looking for Alaska when I was a teenager, around a year after my dad had passed away unexpectedly. It was the first thing that made me question if blaming myself would change anything. It found me when it needed to. I think and hope that it will continue to reach the right people regardless of the decreasing accessibility.

[@aserviceablealto]

This is I think the most forceful and articulate way I've heard you make this point over the years, and the last minute is the most emphatically I've ever heard a straight, white, cis, male author make this point. Big respect.

[@amylizbrarian]

As a librarian and educator (information literacy librarian at a college), THANK YOU for the vocal support you and other authors give to teachers and librarians-especially by informing others about our expertise. Librarians (and many teachers) have masters degrees, yet so many people assume we just read and shelve books all day (literally two tasks i never have time for). Book banners criticisms are frustrating and disrespectful, akin to non-medical people lecturing a nurse or doctor about which medicines treat a condition. On an unrelated (to my librarian role) note, I choreographed a dance based on LFA when i was 16 for one of my high school dance classes. It never occurred to me that my peers would get in trouble for reading it (thanks for not ever censoring my reading, mom and dad!) until someone mentioned it after the fact.

[@aaronpotter2893]

Thank you for this video, John. For the past eight years I have been using your much earlier video on this exact topic, "I Am Not a Pornographer," in my high school Media Literacy class to talk about context and censorship. I'm excited you have made this more recent version which goes into more detail and has better video quality. I look forward to using it in my class. Thank you for all the good work you do!

[@Psittacus_erithacus]

Likewise. It sounds as though you too are doing important work. We appreciate it.

[@untappedinkwell]

As someone who was introduced to this community via a professor showing "I Am Not A Pornographer" in class, thank you for using it in your classes. I hope the updated version goes well too. DFTBA!

[@hopewilliard6781]

That sounds like an excellent class, and I hope your students take its lessons into their families and communities and do good things with them. Thank you for what you do as a teacher!

[@Maiyinlikesmusic]

I read Looking for Alaska when I was going through chemo treatment, and battling the immense grief from losing my beloved little sister to leukemia. It was so impactful for me, so helpful to read about grief in such a well-written maner, when I, myself, struggled to put into words how I felt. So thank you for writing Looking for Alaska, if nothing else, then it at least helped a young, danish girl in one of the darkest periods of her life

[@hopewilliard6781]

That sounds unspeakably hard. Lots of love and light to you and your family.

[@tjstaunton1995]

Dear John, A short open letter. Thankyou for your books in particularly Looking for Alaska. It got me through some really rough shit. When I was younger. And for the past few years, whenever I feel down or lonely I listen to an episode of the Anthropocene Reviewed, and it helps me feel less hopeless, and less lonely. You and Hank do a lot of good for people. And we appreciate it. Cheers

[@sarahnewton2267]

Yes! I appreciate it too! Thank you John and Hank!

[@jasminelambert3753]

I read looking for Alaska a couple years after my mom died. That book and the fault in our stars made me feel less alone and helped me process my grief. That scene in looking for Alaska also helped me feel less alone and awkward and weird because TEENAGERS ARE AWKWARD AND WEIRD WND FIGURING THINGS OUT. That contrasting kissing scene was also pivotal. It helped me understand love and intimacy and the fact that it is in fact NOT ALL ABOUT SEX!!!! Looking for Alaska was a pivotal part of my life and gave me hope to get through the worst thing that ever happened to me.

[@greeplurch]

I read that scene in 9th grade and guess what? I turned out completely ok.

[@markevans8206]

I did not read that book and I am a complete mess. I believe between the two of us there is sufficient evidence. It should be required reading. :)

[@lambentlamprey]

@@markevans8206 I didn't read this until this year. I am 37. I'm ok :)

[@Atmviola]

Same!!!

[@AZsunflower]

I am 74 and have never heard of this book. I try to read banned books. Hope my library has this one. Not sure if I am OK or not, but I have been married 54 years and had two children.

[@catherineday8839]

No literally same. I read this book when I was 14 and it was what got me into John Green

[@SarahRody]

My first exposure to the Green brothers was reading Looking for Alaska on the recommendation of my public librarian! Thanks to teachers and librarians everywhere, I hope the world lets you do your jobs.

[@colleenlibrarian1061]

🎉

[@FreaJones-ez1em]

Hi! Teenager here! We aren’t idiots (most of the time) thanks for sticking up for us! i read that book last year and took so much away from it, it’s messages of loss really spoke to me in a difficult time. As a christian, the book made me believe in god more, not less

[@rachaelpowles8902]

Looking for Alaska changed my life as a teenager. I felt so strongly that everyone I knew needed to read it and sang its praises to everyone who would listen. When my first boyfriend read it, the only thing he could talk about was That Scene and why I (read: a good Christian woman) shouldn’t be reading such things. We were 15. It continues to blow my mind that anyone could read a beautiful, honest book and the only thing they can take from it is one page. I will sing its praises for as long as it takes.

[@justinhart7188]

Hello from Clay County, the #1 book banning county in the #1 book banning state! 😢

[@nintando]

greetings from a fellow northeast floridian 😔

[@pancakification3610]

What's it like in Germany cerca 1942?

[@scoobertmcruppert2915]

@@pancakification3610We’re all living in Germany cica 1928 currently…

[@phir0002]

Middleburg High School graduate here, and as embarrassed I can be...

[@justinhart7188]

@@phir0002 OPHS grad myself :/

[@shool4school729]

Yes! Yes to all of this! I am a high school English teacher and I agree with everything here. Trust us. Trust our librarians. We are trained to do this. Also, we have deep conversations with our students about texts, the interpretation, the meaning, the connection to our [humans] own lives and values. Kids need books where they see themselves and the world they live in. They have zero interest in being preached to by a text that is disconnected from their experiences. We need more books, not less. Thank you for always being such a clear voice of reason and empathy. Two things we desperately need more of in the world.

[@TomorrowStudios]

I read Looking for Alaska when I was 13/14 years old and when I remember my experience reading it, I don’t think about that scene at all. I think about how much I related to Miles’ feelings for Alaska, the fun shenanigans of their boarding school life and trying to parse the meaning behind seeking a “Great Perhaps”. But even more than any of that, I remember the friends I begged to read it so I could talk with them about its themes and what it meant and how it made us feel. I remember us quoting the book to each other and laughing at inside jokes that related to certain characters and lines. The campaign book banners are running against it steals away this potential source of connection from future readers.

[@astrick338]

This is a bit off topic but I wanted to thank you for the impact your books and your work has had on my life. I had no idea my depression was actually OCD until I read turtles all the way down. I also had no idea where to start for treatment until I heard you talk about ERP. In about 10 minutes I have my first real appointment for ERP (not the getting to know you or paperwork once but the actual work) and I am so grateful you helped me find something that gives me hope for the first time.

[@punkfanzrul]

Looking for Alaska shook me to the core more than any book I’ve ever read. THANK YOU FOR WRITING A BANGER

[@untappedinkwell]

+++

[@meghanvismara5177]

I clicked on this video and didn’t expect to cry but here I am in my kitchen with all the emotions. I’m a teacher of 10 years and appreciate this so much. This is so deeply what I feel about this current context in education. Thank you for writing and thank you for sharing.

[@UnfortunateRamblings]

Thank you for 1) keeping this on everyone's radar and 2) recognizing the expertise of individuals in our fields. ("If we don't want them to do it, why are we training and employing them" is becoming a more and more serious and terrifying statement in our communities, so time spent with that question would be appreciated as well)

[@hucklebucklin]

I hope you see this John. I read this book at 13 in school (when it first came out in 2006/2007!!). My teacher had us read it out loud. Luckily, we didnt read *that scene* in class 😂 I'm so happy my teacher let us pick that book because she made me a nerdfighter! ❤ I reread the book recently after I lost a friend in the same way as the book... and it really helped me with grief and other people's grief. Thanks John

[@joshgoldenberg4398]

"Porcine lust for power" may be one of the greatest lines ever uttered. Ever

[@shanisokay]

Such a powerful video! I remember reading your books for the first time as a teenager and being struck with the feeling that for once, an adult writer wasn't talking down to me. I have often explained that I always appreciated the fact that your books never claimed to have all the answers, but instead posed questions and let us ponder the answers together, as reader and author.

[@sonea11]

When I was 13 or 14 my thearpist lended this book to me. I loved it and it helped me in ways that are hard to express. So the idea that someone whould think it is harmful and that it should be banned is just baffeling to me. And by the way I definitely understood the meening of that scene as a teenager. Do not underestimate children or teenagers!

[@katsuofox]

I read Looking for Alaska when I was around 15 and nervous about all the sex talk coming from people my age and adults, I was overwhelmed by the importance given to sex and how it should happen, and reading an experience so down to earth and awkward helped me get through that anxiety, which is what I think these people don't want to happen, some christian communities want teens to be scared of sex, which isn't how you develop a healthy future sex life. Anyway, shrinking the whole meaning of this book to only this scene is a disservice when there's many lessons in it I was glad to have been able to read since an young age. Maybe it's time to pick it out of the shelf and give it another read! Hugs from Brazil to you John 💖

[@cameron21086]

Your point toward the end about "Any attempt to portray the world as it actually exists will inevitably lead to censorship" so true!! I watched a Princess Weekes video yesterday about book bans, and she reached a really similar point, specificially about anti-LGBT bans: The books in question didn't have gay sexual content but what the censors found "obscene" was LGBT people "asking to be seen as people"

[@TheKrispyfort]

People often asked why my kids were so clever. "Because I never treated them like they were stupid" Kids aren't given enough credit for their capabilities

[@anjelicaablu]

I read that scene in high school and understood perfectly. That book felt real and made me feel seen on a level no other YA book ever managed. LfA gave me language to navigate some of the horrific trauma that lay ahead for me- my own labyrinth of suffering and thanks to you, I had the forgiveness key in hand. Thank you for writing it and thank you for defending it.

[@pipermckoon8637]

I read Alaska for the first time when I was in seventh grade and it fundamentally changed me as a person. For the first time I was able to see the way I grieved in another person, and was understood by a protagonist who had lost the one thing he loved most. Grief was a very taboo topic in my home and I learned so much about it just by listening to the story of Miles Halter and the Girl He Couldn’t Save. Bravo, John, bravo.

[@hopewilliard6781]

To the teachers and librarians who’ve commented on this: thank you for the work for that you do with young people! Thank you for the time and hard work you devoted to your degrees and professional training, and all the work you put in to continuing professional development-your expertise in guiding students’ reading matters! Thank you for being champions of young people getting access to books that widen their perspective and grow their hearts.

[@JesseSierks]

Man, as a teenager I wasn't able to pull all this insight and meaning out of books like this. I'm still not sure I can do that. Good on all you writers that spend all your time adding it in!

[@realspacemodels]

I was in high school, in Florida, the year John Green was born, the English Lit class was reading "If Beale Street Could Talk" by James Baldwin. I was not in the class - but I heard all about it because the girls in the school were swooning about some sexy scene(s). There was no outrage and no banning. Which was amazing since we were in the south. And I am pretty confident that the students in that class were not adversely influenced by the content of a book. Book banning is simply foolish.

[@rsiogjtsjiflgtksjfijgsrljhlf]

started reading Looking for Alaska after i saw this video, and it's been a little over a day and i'm almost finished. it has my favourite kinds of themes in a story, and i've really enjoyed it so far. i definitely would recommend.

[@tennischick983]

Looking for Alaska was one of the books I read in middle school that made me want to keep reading for fun. In fact, all of your books were. And then 11 or so years later, Alaska became a show and I got to share that joy with my friend, and give him the book to read. Got to reread my own 11 year old copy of it, and experience that joy all over again. It’s a real shame people are taking that away from their kids.

[@troyfuehrer5067]

Your book "looking for Alaska" is the book that got me into reading. Thank you for writing that book, and all the others you write. And for advocating for books that speak on the reality of the world around us.

[@neuroatypi_gal]

As a teacher who worked at a library, this is my new favourite video. Thanks for wording my feelings 🫶🏽

[@oliveoilz2112]

I read looking for Alaska when I was young. I literally didn’t even remember this scene! Everything else about the book? Yeah, all of that stuck.

[@vlogbrothers]

It's like remembering the fourth lap of the Indy 500. It's only there to build to the good shit. -John

[@uykudju]

same here

[@kassandrasolon1633]

Listening to you speak about it brought me right back into the experience of reading that book. It changed my life. Radical hope - that's everything. Thanks, John ❤

[@Katiebartl]

Looking for Alaska came to me in a time where I desperately needed radical hope. I was 19 years old, halfway across the country from my family and friends and stuck in an unhealthy relationship. I came home to visit friends and a week after seeing my closest friend, him asking me to stay home, and me going back out of state, he stepped off a high bridge and ended his life. The guilt and trauma of it, blaming myself, and eventually coming out on the other side with some hope were mirrored in this little book I picked up on a whim, because it was on sale at the bookstore. At the time I was not allowed to mourn and I had no outlet for my emotions, so having the option to escape into a book that knew what I was going though, was invaluable. It helped me so much, and to think that young people in similar circumstances won't have access to that because of one awkward page, is so disheartening. I think you're spot on about them believing life is obscene - it often is though. Art reflects that, and I think some people just loathe seeing a mirror held to reality.

[@AM-rb4ps]

As a high school teacher… I think paper towns would be the novel I would teach in my classes above LFA. But I am so proud that our library stocks copies of LFA for kids to discover and love on their own.

[@leahandersen5087]

Looking for Alaska is a book I find incredibly meaningful. I think I was maybe 14 when I read it the first time. I didn’t read it for those scenes, I read it because it made me feel less alone in my own struggle to understand suffering. It also helped me in my own complicated relationship with grief and the suicide of my dad. If I hadn’t had that book, I would have felt more alone. Thank you for writing it.

[@FranklinAyers13]

You and Hank have both enriched my life. Love you guys.

[@mariamosier2596]

This video hits the mark in every way! Thank you so much! Not only for your books, but also for fighting against censorship and for honesty.

[@dylanjeffrey7239]

I read that book twice. I could not have told you that this scene was in it, now 15 years later. I exclusively remember sharing the emptiness and the guilt and the shame along with the main character. It was really how it felt like to be a teenager.

[@hermannhigh7365]

1) I had no idea you were an author 2) i want to read your books so badly now 3) your statement about why books are banned should be on posters around the world 4) you and hank are rapidly becoming my heroes

[@hermannhigh7365]

“…there is no way to appease book-banners, because even if you agree with their professed value system, any attempt to portray the world as it actually exists will inevitably lead to censorship. Ultimately, what these folks are opposed to is not books. It’s reality. It’s not books they find obscene, it’s reality they find obscene.” “They feel that the existence of LGBTQ people is obscene, which is why they disproportionately ban books about them, and they feel that racial and ethnic diversity are obscene, which is why they disproportionately ban books by and about people of colour. “ John Green

[@untappedinkwell]

Here's a list of John's Books, in case you want to request them from your local library: Looking for Alaska; An Abundance of Katherines; Paper Towns; Let it Snow (short story anthology with Lauren Myracle and Maureen Johnson); Will Grayson, Will Grayson (co-authored with David Levithan); The Fault in Our Stars; Turtles All the Way Down; and The Anthropocene Reviewed (non-fiction). In March, John's next non-fiction book, Everything is Tuberculosis releases (and is available for pre-order now).

[@silver2lady2]

Guess what?! Hank is an author, too! His books are An Absolutely Remarkable Thing and A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor.

[@hermannhigh7365]

How did all the goodness on the internet end up concentrated into two men??​@@silver2lady2

[@TheDanishGuyReviews]

I question where you've been if you didn't know number one. Not this channel, that's for sure.

[@heatherfox8230]

I remember reading that scene in my late teens and being relieved that it wasn't just me who didn't know how to do any of the things that it can feel like everybody else knows. The characters were as awkward as I felt and I appreciated that.

[@Jordan8x]

I read Looking for Alaska as a teenager, after a loved one had taken their own life. It was such a support and will always be my favorite book of yours, not because it made me feel good, but because it had such a deep meaning for me and spoke truth to the complex feelings around very difficult events. I would be happy if my kids wanted to read it.

[@TheKateamy]

I read your books when I was in High School, I now have been a teacher for 4 years and I still think about your books. Your books are thought-provoking and, in some ways, profound. Thank you for writing them for us to enjoy and to stimulate us. My favourite is The Abundance of Katherines :)

[@puddle.drinker]

(bit of a book of a comment!!) everything you've said is completely correct. I remember reading this scene and feeling like I had just like... walked in on it, like I wasn't supposed to be there. it felt weird, unnatural, extremely awkward. and this struck me as an incredibly GOOD thing because I knew that it marked an incredibly good author. I originally picked up the book in junior year. in English, we had 10 minutes at the beginning of class allocated to reading. I was reading a book I wasn't particularly interested when I saw looking for alaska laying on a table nearby. I picked it up and started reading it instead, and I LOVED it. I went to the teacher at the end of class and asked her if I could take it home to read, and she kind of lit up, said I absolutely could. for a few days, I was one of those people with their nose always between pages. I loved everything about it and it really did change me. my friends were kind of shocked by it because reading during lunch wasn't like me. reading at all wasn't much like me. truth is, I have loved reading in the past but kind of fell out of it. but that one book, that one decision to try it out because I'd heard good things and that john green is an amazing author sparked my love for reading and writing again and I couldn't be more grateful. I laughed, cried, felt awkward. I remember during class I had to put it down because alaskas death hit like a freight train - straight and fast. if I kept reading, I would have burst into tears then and there. I returned the book to her and we had a small chat about it. she goes, "you know, you just read a banned book." my jaw hit the ground. seriously? how could an impactful story with great writing, better lessons, and so much... reality, be banned? this story, much of which can be attributed to others lives... is banned? how? it's not bad, it doesn't glorify self-destructive behavior - it presents it how it is. anyway. alaska young and her friends, kids who didn't exist though I see them in small things people do, changed me. really. might sound silly, but every so often, i feel myself wanting to pour one out for alaska even if I am wildly under the age of drinking, and don't even partake. though I might do something different. tell stories. maybe, possibly, in a different time, my work may show up in her life's library. telling stories, especially ones that very much could be real, is crucial. so, so crucial. thank you, john.

[@sierra3091]

One of my favorite recent uploads so far! What a profound point.

[@bibliophilecb]

+

[@cindygraham2102]

Once again I either hear feeling like the itchy discomfort or why something so deeply off, is so deeply off for me. Thanks for giving such an amazing voice to that

[@level99challenge8]

This is a time where I'm glad the 4-minute limit is more of a guideline than a rule. All 348 seconds were needed to fully articulate this idea (In its full context! Imagine doing such a thing!), and trimming it down to fit the old standard would've resulted in a much worse video. Much love to everyone out there fighting the good fight against book bans and for the world being viewed as it actually is

[@enso8379]

I discovered the community back in 2007ish because I read Looking for Alaska. I was a sophomore in college and I was reading it for a course in YA Literature. It was the first book that made me cry and weep. I remember throwing the book against the wall and breaking down for a good ten minutes. It was that moment that I really understood the value of literature and how it can be used to increase our capacity for empathy and understanding. That book changed my life and how I read literature. Thank you John. ... Your other books are okay.

[@view-camera-queen]

I love that you discuss the truth that teachers and librarians are experts with specific training. So often they are portrayed as people who couldn’t succeed elsewhere and are relegated to be a lowly teacher.

[@soap-nb6yd]

This book was very important to me when I was 14, along with all of your other books. Thank you for fighting the good fight, your books were no small part of the reason I became both a writer and a teacher!

[@manderse12]

John, this is EXCELLENT! I've sent it along to my librarian/Lit teacher spouse and her public school colleagues.

[@ScoresUnstitched]

Looking for Alaska was the first book of yours I read. I found it at the library when I was 16, literally half my life ago. I remember reading it and feeling like finally, FINALLY, I was being taken seriously. I’ve followed you and Hank ever since, for 16 years. You gave a voice to teenagers who think critically and the ones who need your books will find them even easier with this ban. Thank you for being you, I’m so incredibly proud to be a nerdfighter. Brb, wiping my tears on the copy you signed when I was 17 in a tiny bookstore in Virginia. (I both love and hate that I can casually drop facts like that. When did we get so old? 😂)

[@lunarvisions7]

When I was 15, one of my best friends moved away for a year. During that year, her father died and I was not there for her. I was going through a lot myself, and I thought I would be able to make up for it when she came back the following year. Within two days of her return, she died in her sleep from an undiagnosed heart condition. I never got to see her again, and there was nothing I could do about what a bad friend I’d been. I read Looking for Alaska that same year. Needless to say, I was able to understand the themes just fine at the tender age of 16.

[@jen.x.j]

Hello. When I was 18 and started community college, I came upon the book “Looking for Alaska” at my school’s library. It was a painful time for me in my personal life and reading that book made me feel less alone in my pain. I’m 33 years old now and while I have outgrown many of the young adult books I have read at that time in my life, I can still remember the profound affect they had on me, including Looking for Alaska. I hope many more kids will stumble upon it the way I did, in the hopes it has not been banned in their communities. Also, that scene was hilarious. Lighten up, moms.

[@jasperirwin180]

this book changed my life in my adolescence. first read it in junior high, continued to reread because i loved the characters and the tragedy of it all without actually understanding the tragedy of it all. But i didnt understand the book until highschool when i desperately needed to find a way to forgive myself for everything I thought the people around me couldn't forgive me for. i then continued to read this book every time i needed a reminder that i was okay while going through the hardest times of my life, which was often. i turned 18 and my first tattoo was "forgive the labyrinth". I unapologetically give everyone the long form answer when they ask if my tattoo is a david bowie reference. i know this video is about it being banned but no matter how many parents print that one page, it will forever be the one book i never let go of.

[@untappedinkwell]

This is so beautiful. Thank you for sharing it with all of us. I'm so, so glad Looking for Alaska found you.

[@mikeystir3333]

It was so interesting to grow up watching vlog brothers and then to see John green’s looking for Alaska on so many recommendations I was always so happy that a unique and interesting person who I look up to made it as an author and his story got to reverberate around me and around the world, this time not through video but through novel. Thank you and your brother for so many years of inspiration and thought.

[@mygodsnameiskyle]

@vlogbrothers My mum always said "The best way to get kids to read a book is to ban it". They band "The Grapes of Wrath" when she was in school... so the whole school was like "Well there has to be something good in that... let's read it!"

[@Tooobuhz18]

My favorite line in all of fiction is "I am concussed" when he streaked through the basketball game

[@zevscozyplace]

I think of that line whenever I fall on my face. which isn't a lot but I always get a chuckle out of myself in spite of the pain.

[@stretch8390]

Ah, thanks for the good memory.

[@timbroman2653]

I haven't read Looking for Alaska in at least 10 years. I watched this video in the background while doing menial data entry for work. And yet, when you used the word "labyrinth" toward the end, my throat got tight and my eyes started watering. This book remains incredibly powerful and meaningful to me as an adult, even mostly just as a memory. Probably one of the most important books I have ever read, in its effect on me. (I definitely don't remember the oral sex scene.)

[@GrimmRiot]

3:00 I read Speak and Catalyst by Laurie Anderson when I was a severely depressed 12 year old (undiagnosed mdd) and constantly living with suc*dal ideation. Those novels literally gave me the vocabulary I needed to describe how I felt. Not ask for help but just gave me the ability to recognize the emotions I was experiencing. I cannot imagine how the rest of my schooling years would have gone if I never got the chance to educate myself, and gave myself the confidence I needed to ask for help. Book bans are dumb af

[@TuNana8020]

I read this book when I was 16 years old, that was 9 years ago... I loved everything about this story and it really had an impact on me back then. Thank you very much for writing this and so many other stories that make young people question their existence, question things as they should be doing. Thank you again, Jordan (from El Salvador)

[@laminsangmu4416]

Looking for Alaska gave me so much warmth and hope as a reclusive awkward teen. And also it was one of my first ya novel that got a great tv adaption.

[@carmen_m108]

Hey John, we read Looking for Alaska in my English class in 10th grade at my German highschool. I remember us discussing the metaphors in it and how relieved I was that we were finally reading a book in school that wasn't published centuries ago ☺️

[@deo2047]

I’m here because I’m here because I’m hearing because I’m avoiding doing work

[@MaggieJacksonJacksonspace]

I read Looking for Alaska when I was 15. I was far less concerned with that scene. What stuck with me was how empty the last half of the book was. You could really feel her loss from the story. Over a decade later, I still find myself learning about grief through your work.

[@SuperNerdKid]

I will always be grateful that Looking for Alaska was there for me to read when I was 15 the weekend my parents decided to divorce. My high school English teacher let me borrow it from her and it meant a lot to me to have that story at that time. Thank you, John.