Book Review: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Title: Turtles all the Way Dowwn
By: John Green
Edition: Audiobook
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


Recap:
Aza is the main character of this book. Along with her best friend Daisy, they are looking to solve a mystery. Daisy drags Aza along to have a 'chance encounter' with Davis. Aza has had a crush on Davis since they were kids. This book is mostly the inner monologue of Aza as she struggles to maintain a grasp on reality. She goes to psychologist visits, she kind of does what she is prescribed. All of this struggle builds up until it breaks, and Aza seeks help in earnest. All while trying to be a normal teenager and have relationships with Daisy as her friend, her mom as her daughter, and Davis as her...something.

My thoughts:
John Green did an amazing job depicting Aza's mental illness and how it doesn't just go away. It doesn't just get better. Aza is a very complex individual, she is clearly struggling with the grief of her father's death that was sudden, but happened years before the setting of this book. She gets so lost in her own mind, that she doesn't understand why she has friends. A lot of the typical teenage stuff happens, your best friend gets a boyfriend and stops hanging out with you. Your mom is hovering and you don't want to talk to her about it. There is all of that 'normal' stuff coupled with the obsessive tendencies Aza has and her struggle to "not be crazy."

It is hard for me to believe that Aza and Davis had such deep thoughts that seemed so far beyond their teenage years. So I struggled with that aspect of the book. I also thought the underlying Picket mystery just seemed so extra. It took a way from Aza's story. I can see how it is necessary to bring certain characters into the story, but it just didn't feel right to me.

I loved the way the story ended. I loved the way it read and the Audiobook was well narrated throughout the book, but especially the ending.

So this is my second completed book for September. My goal is six books, but we will see how it goes.