Review: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Turtles All the Way Down 
by John Greenpub 10/10/17 by Dutton Books for
Young Readers
Young Adult - Contemporary

The first John Green book I ever read was The Fault in Our Stars and I was one of those people who fell completely head-over-heels in love with it. Naturally I wanted to read his other books so I picked up Looking for Alaska next. I was so disappointed in that book that I decided I wasn’t going to read anything else in his backlog. As you can imagine then, the announcement of Turtles All the Way Down filled me with both glee and trepidation. I knew I would read it but I definitely set my expectations very low because I was also a different reader now than I was 5 years ago when I first read his work.

Guys, I am happy to say that I really, really liked Turtles All the Way Down. There’s definitely still something about it that’s quintessential John Green but at the same time, it’s more mature and well-rounded than his previous works. We follow sixteen-year-old Aza who deals constantly with overwhelming anxieties. The way Green portrays her spiraling thoughts is by letting us read her unfiltered stream of consciousness. Her anxiety-plagued thoughts mixed in with her calmer internal dialogue. Even reading it made me feel this weight and oppression so I can’t begin to imagine what it must be like to live with that. You don’t see this portrayed often in books and I thought Green handled it extremely well.

But while her anxiety plays a huge role in her life and effects everything around her, we do see beyond that. We meet her best friend Daisy and again, get a very real glimpse into the growing pains of friendship. It’s Daisy who decides they should try to solve a local mystery regarding the disappearance of billionaire Russell Pickett in order to win a reward. It sounds ridiculous but it actually worked as catalyst. Because it leads to Aza reuniting with Pickett’s son, Davis, who she used to be friends with. That was another relationship I enjoyed watching unfold as it not only forced Aza to confront certain things about herself but was also just quietly romantic.

Do I recommend?

I do! I think this is really strong comeback and it makes me excited for more books from him.