Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Looking for Alaska by John Green

17 reviews

kenfrommars's review

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

“I go to seek a Great Perhaps”

The theme of the book. The question that hung over the whole 221-page novel about the main character, Miles Halter, trying to find just that.

I won’t sugarcoat it. My journey in reading this book is very mixed. The first half of the novel was hard for me to get through at times. I took some days of not reading it and was considering I might drop it, but there was a point where something about it just hooked me. Was it the mystery of Alaska? Was it me finding myself frustrated with the characters and just wanting to finish it because I had made it so far into it as it was?

Not sure, but there was something about this story that just grabbed me, also. I liked the character of Alaska Young. I liked the main group and the side characters. It was very John Green in the sense of these characters being witty, insightful, simultaneously enlightened and ignorant, and just this overall message of hope.

This book came out when I was in high school, but I didn’t read it until now. I wished I had read it when I was in high school, but with the perspective of both a teenager and an adult who has made his own mistakes, I appreciate the themes of hope. Because we all seek that great perhaps of life. The Great Perhaps that gives us purpose. Some of us don’t find it and some of us find then lose it.

I’ve had my issues with John Green in a number of his books, but I thoroughly enjoyed this and it should be read by everyone at least once. It should be experienced by everyone at least once. It’s thought-provoking and insightful and heartwarming, despite the themes of grief.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Grief, Suicide, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Misogyny, and Drug abuse

mack_urdaddy's review

dark emotional funny lighthearted sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Will shock you so hard you might need time to recover. Don’t get too attached.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Car accident, and Drug use

Moderate: Mental illness, Drug use, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Death

Minor: Sexual content

darkty's review against another edition

First pages and I coud not go further. Charactera that are minors are talking about their perveser fantasies. The MC is a sad male virgin that can not take his eyes of certain parts of a girl he just met, who is blantly boasting with the fact, that a guy (she was not single) groped her boob. And the, are romanzicising smoking.

I do like John Green, and I really believe that the book has an (maybe) important messge and needs to build itself up for that. But it was just too much for me. ALL WITHIN THE FIRST FEW PAGES.

I am disguted!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Drug abuse

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

chronicoverthinker's review

sommerferien

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Death

ashylibrarian's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I didn't love this one. I had high expectations with the hype around John Green, but I was left feeling meh about this story. I think it brings up important topics like mental health, trauma, and substance use, however it didn't feel like there was much more to it than bringing up the topics. I don't hate that I read this one, but I don't think it will be a go-to for recommendations. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Grief, Alcohol, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, and Drug use

imaginethisreader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Alcohol, Death of parent, Car accident, Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicide, Drug use, Grief, Cursing, and Vomit

ahappylesbian's review

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense

5.0

Sobbed my eyes out when I read this at school. Added another character I kin to my list. holy moley man what a debut book. Big trigger warning though. Stay safe, and know that you are loved and that you are enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Bullying, Self harm, Sexual content, Cursing, Drug abuse, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

rory_john14's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death, Sexism, Suicide, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

Moderate: Mental illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Toxic relationship, Classism, and Medical content

lilith_hmr's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Finished this book within 10 days. It was a really reflective book. I almost cried at the climax of what happened.

The book beautifully captures, grief, death and guilt. It also explains very well the concept of the afterlife and why we believe in it if we do. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Alcoholism, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, and Deadnaming

trycerabel's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Car accident, Drug abuse, and Drug use