Turtles All The Way Down

Publication Date: October 10, 2017

Publisher: Dutton Books

Pages: 286

Summary:

The best-selling author of The Fault In Our Stars returns to the literary world with an honest tale that highlights the maddening spiral of compulsive thoughts. To the outside world, Aza Holmes is a perfectly competent 16-year-old teen. But Aza's mind tells a different story. Compulsively repetitive thoughts haunt Aza in each and every moment of her life; along with the burden of performing repetitious habits as an attempt to calm the insistent anxiety inside her brain. But Aza's life becomes even more disorderly when a millionaire businessman is declared missing; who also happens to be the father to her long-time crush Davis Pickett. With her Best Friend Daisy at her side, Aza sets out to uncover the mystery behind the million dollar man's disappearance; as she struggles to define her own version of sanity.

Review:

In simplistic terms, John Green could not have chosen a better topic to make his comeback with. Aza's journey resonated with my own daily struggles and anxious doubts on a deeply personal level; which gives me the pleasure to say that Turtles All The Way Down is highly worthy of my four-and-a-half star rating.

Characters: Green's young adult characters continue to be a perfect blend of all that is humorously funny while still attempting to solve the secrets of their own universes. Aza's portrayal of OCD was brutally honest and completely accurate. It perfectly encapsulated the insistent encounters that obsessively compulsive brains must endure on a daily level. However, I did not feel as personally connected to Aza as I would have preferred. As the novel's main heroine, I felt that Aza's character should have formed a deeper connection with the reader. While reading, I couldn't help but feel a lack of personal feelings and details towards Aza's personal as the novel progressed. In accordance with Aza, Daisy's role played a major factor as the novel progressed. I found myself sharing a sentimental bond with Daisy's character as she continuously lightened the dark mood of the book. But, as with Aza, I felt that Daisy's personal feelings on certain matters where lacking in an occasional stance. And sandwiched between his fellow main characters was Davis Pickett; Aza's love interest. I genuinely enjoyed reading about the unique dilemma that Davis was presented with; along with his pent-up frustration over his unfortunate predicament. I found Davis' situation to be vastly unique as he struggles to comprehend the untimely disappearance of his father; specifically in regards to his overall family dynamic. However, I did feel that Davis' character was fairly guarded off from the reader, which made it difficult to sense his emotions on a grander perspective. Nonetheless, I did enjoy reading about the unique adversity that plagued each and every one of these characters.

Plot: It is rare to find YA novels that provides as equal a balance that is found in Turtles All The Way Down. Green has a gift of perfectly blending each element of plot together and developing the components together as a whole. The novel has a perfect balance of romantic tension between the characters and an idealistic sense of mystery as Pickett's disappearance is continuously questioned. I was highly engaged in the development of the plot and was continuously surprised by the book's many twists and turns. To put it simply, the plot's pace never ceased to surprise me.

Writing Style: It is a critically acclaimed fact that John Green is known for his writing talent. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Turtles All The Way Down ventured away from Green's familiar writing style. Contrary to his past books, Aza's story unfolds in a much darker tone then Green's past works. But the change in tone was a plus in the overall arch of the novel. I was rather pleased to shift away from the light-hearted, airy prose that generally proceeds a John Green novel.

Setting: In salute to his background in American History, Green chose to stage his newest novel in Indianapolis. Throughout the novel, Green adequately combines the historical background of his hometown into the overall development of the plot; a tribute I found to be very unique and diverse.

Conclusion:

The topic of mental health has always been a near and dear subject to my heart. Reading about Aza's struggles reminded me that there is a light of hope at the end of the tunnel of mental illness. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who is interested in learning more about mental health disorders, and the hardships that they bring.