Review: Turtles All the Way Down

By John Green

Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Community Rating: 4.07

Genre: YA Contemporary w/ mental health focus

Publication Date: October 10th, 2017

Format Read: Hardcover (that’s how badly i wanted to read this book y’all)

Goodreads Summary: Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett’s son, Davis.

Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts. 

In his long-awaited return, John Green, the acclaimed, award-winning author of Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars, shares Aza’s story with shattering, unflinching clarity in this brilliant novel of love, resilience, and the power of lifelong friendship.

Overview

dang i can’t even describe what this book did to me… it’s been about 2 (ish?) weeks now and i’m still fairly in shock. Turtles was one of the most well written books on anxiety/depression that i’ve ever read (i can’t speak for the OCD but i’ve heard that rep was well done as well) and it had me hooked the whole way through. at quite a few points i had to put down the book and walk away for a few hours, because i was so drawn into Aza’s head that i think it was making my own thoughts and feelings and crazy anxieties even worse. (putting that in writing makes it sound fake, but i swear to you it happened)

i would 12/10 recommend this book to everyone, and so i’m about to spend the rest of this blog post gushing about how much i loved everything.

Characters

Aza was so relatable. she’s struggling with ocd/anxiety, and John Green expressed her in a realistic way that made me feel like i was also inside her head at times. her emotions were always so raw and out there, and i just generally loved her.

Daisy, Aza’s best friend, was somewhat annoying, but in the type of way where you’re driven insane but still want to read more.

Davis, the LI, is INCREDIBLY SWEET and honestly i wish i could date him because he’s so good to Aza and the relationship is so healthy and amazing. i shipped Aza and Davis so hard this entire book and that made me want to push on.

Plot

basically, Davis’s father is a billionaire that goes missing, and then Aza restarts her friendship with Davis, and it continues from there. I was a little afraid it was gonna be an “aza saves the world” type of book at first, but it was far more realistic, and in my mind more powerful. the book itself was more a ya romance meets mental health and friendship drama. a winning combination imo

the pacing was really good because you never got bored or felt like the book was stalling out, but at the same time there was plenty of time for the relationship and plot to develop naturally.

 

Summary

if you’re not convinced already, READ THIS BOOK! because i am quite literally the nerdiest person alive, i created a graphic for my favorite quote in the entire book. it’s the first one i’ve ever made, and so it’s not that good, but i thought i’d share it with y’all. let me know if you have any advice for improving at graphic stuff in general!

Have you read Turtles yet? would you recommend? What’s your favorite John Green book? do you have any advice for making graphics, because i’m struggling… comment below!

 

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