Review: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Aza's best friend Daisy hears about a billionaire from their area has gone missing, and Daisy is determined to find out information about him so they can get the $100,000 reward. And since Aza knows the billionaire's son, Davis, Aza is the go to person to start smoozing up to Davis. It also doesn't help that Aza kinda sorta likes Davis, so talking to him after a long time of no talking is a bit stressful for Aza.

And Aza doesn't need any more stress in her life because of her condition that she is in - spiraling from one thought to another to another and another until Aza can't escape from the quicksand that is her own thoughts and mind. But Aza is learning how to cope with it...she thinks...maybe.

Having the mystery of Davis's father is a great distraction, though, even if she is conflicted on how to keep her investigation separate from her feelings for Davis.

The longer Aza keeps her symptons to herself, the more her thoughts are taking over, but Aza is FINE... right? Aza is going to have to figure out what life really means and what she wants from life in order for her to overcome the inner struggles that are fighting their way to the top, before she is too far gone.

I adore John Green. His novels are so inspiring and enjoyable and addicting. This novel was the perfect follow-up novel to The Fault in Our Stars because it is so original and unique and powerful. It is completely different, and yet it is it's own novel that takes the reader away to a whole other side of the word "illness" and makes the reader understand circumstances that they may never have experienced if they never read this book.

The beginning of this book jumps you right into Aza's mind - the spiraling and the vastness where your thoughts can take you to. The never ending spiral that will take you away from society and trap you where no one can reach you.

To make that the first scene for the readers to experience was an amazing idea by John Green. It has the readers instantly understand what Aza goes through and how difficult it is for her, even if it may be hard to explain to the people around her.

There were moments in this novel where I was in Aza's head with her, where I literally felt like I was having those conversations and how I thought it would never end. John Green did an amazing job giving readers an inside look at this mental illness that Aza has, which shows just how much of an amazing writer he is.

All of the characters in this book were partially broken - either with a disease, missing parents, or poverty. These characters are not perfect, even if they are situated in a perfect world. This definitely showed how an everyday, normal person really lives, and how they live day by day.

Aza's friends and family are not perfect, and they make mistakes that hurt others, but the one thing that was very prominent in this book is forgiveness and acceptance, and I love that so much. There is not enough of that in today's world, and to be able to read it in a novel is just amazing for me.

I am so glad that I finally read this book and that I own a signed copy of this book. I definitely won't be forgetting this story any time soon, and I will now be looking forward to John Green's next novel, whenever that may be :)

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