Maybe you might like trying Python (there are some more tutorials listed here; specifically, Learn Python the Hard Way, #2 in the Python section, is a nice next step after Codecademy), it has a "cleaner" syntax, in that it doesn't require braces or so many brackets; this could help you to practice without so many distractions.
(And yes, once you've practiced more, you'll be able to keep track of more of the program in your head and so the white space is a navigational aid, rather than a hinderance.)
People on this board have talked about programming as a gear in your brain that, to a first approximation, you have or you don't. I'm wondering if there's some well put-together resource you can direct someone with zero experience and just a web-browser to and say "if you're having fun an hour from now, you have the gear, good luck" -- maybe something on Khan academy?
(I learned to program a long time ago, and I started with BASIC program listings in my math textbook -- I don't actually know what the optimal onramps are now.)