Name: Turtles All the Way Down
Stand Alone
Author: John Green
Publisher: Penguin
Format: Kindle
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Noted Tropes: Dealing with Mental Illness, Fear and Loss
Steam or Spice: None
Rating:
Synopsis: Goodreads
Aza Holmes never intended to pursue the disappearance 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 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.
Review:
John Green has always been a comfort read to me, and yet for unknown reasons I never picked up Turtles All the Way Down. Until one work day when I realised I had no book with me to read at lunch. I truly feel like John Green represented the mental illness that Aza is combatting every day with respect and did it in a way that allowed someone without OCD to understand it a little better. And this makes sense given that he also has OCD and wanted to express to the readers that it isn’t just about wanting things to be neat and tidy…
Aza ends up being an amateur detective, trying to find the father of an old friend who is wanted for a number of crimes. Whilst doing this, she gets closer to her old friend, Davis and honestly I really liked them as a couple. I liked that Davis was understanding and patient with Aza, and ultimately my heart hurt for them…
I did have a moment where I ended up quite upset by some of the contents in the book, in particular a discussion between Aza and her friend Daisy. It led to a lengthly discussion with my partner and helped us have a conversation we needed to have while he is on a journey of his own. I was grateful for that, and although it upset me, ultimately it was written well (clearly as it had me tearing up!) and sparked a discussion, which is something I’m sure John Green would be happy about.
Turtles All the Way Down was a hard read, but I loved every moment of it (mostly, the Star Wars references were absolutely lost on me and I kind of skim through most of them). It’s a beautiful telling of one persons struggle with mental illness. But it’s also a story of friendship, of loss, of every day drama and drama you only see in shows but know exist….
“In the best conversations, you don’t even remember what you talked about, only how it felt.”
Reading With Tyler 
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