Another book review, already??
Yes. But, this one was not written by me. It is brought to you by my smart, funny, thoughtful buddy Brittany.
Brittany reviewed Turtles All the Way Down by John Green, because we have differing opinions on the king of YA fiction. She loves him, I loved Looking for Alaska and tolerated the rest of his body of work. Apparently, though, this book is his big comeback from the land of two-dimensional male characters and manic pixie dream girl love interests. Also, this review miraculously contains NO SPOILERS so feel free to read whether you've read the book or not! She wrote it in the form of a letter to me so convince me to read the book. And it worked. So you might see a companion review in the not-too-far future.
Book info:
Title: Turtles All the Way DownAuthor: John Green
Year Published: 2017
ISBN: 9780525555360
Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery 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 Russell 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.
In his long-awaited return, John Green, the acclaimed, award-winning author of Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars, shares Aza’s story with shattering, unflinching clarity in this brilliant novel of love, resilience, and the power of lifelong friendship.
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| Author John Green |
Without further ado, here is Brittany's review of Turtles All the Way Down by John Green:
‘Sup, Jeselyn,
As you know, it’s been literal years since I’ve written more than a sentence of anything, let alone a review of something fictional. So this is scatterbrained and quick, but I want to tell you about Turtles All The Way Down by John Green. Look, I know you have *OPINIONS* about his stuff, and you don’t love him as much as I do, but how about this for a spoiler: this is a John Green novel where no one dies at the end! It puts him above 50/50! Hooray!
As is my usual MO with YA novels, I read this book in about 3 hours. Probably a little quick for something that’s going to be reviewed, but I didn’t know I was going to want to review it before I started.
Ok, that’s a lie, because I texted you about 5 pages in telling you how I was sure this was going to be a good one. And it was. Like, it’s been awhile since I read The Fault In Our Stars, but it was better than that.
The thing that made this one special for me is that I could identify with a teen protagonist more than I have since I was an actual teenager. A lot of that had to do with the insular nature of the novel, how much of it is in the main character, Aza’s, head. The prose follows the thought spirals that anyone with anxiety or OCD will recognize and relate to. Aza’s particular obsession involves a lot of body horror, and thoughts about the billions of microbes that live in your body. It’s made clear very early on that Aza has something going on in her head. “By cell count, humans are approximately 50 percent microbial, meaning that about half of the cells that make you up are not yours at all. There are something like a thousand times more microbes living in my particular biome than there are human beings on earth, and it often seems like I can feel them living and breeding and dying in and on me.” (pg 3).
Being a follower of John Green’s internet presence, particularly his projects with his brother, the Vlogbrothers YouTube channel and their podcast, “Dear Hank & John,” I was expecting this. He’s talked a lot about how this book has come out of his struggle with his own mental illness, and you can tell that this book comes from a very deep place, one of those places where the thoughts stay stuck for a long time. In a scene fairly early on in the book, Aza’s therapist says: “One of the challenges with pain--Physical or psychic--is that we can really only approach it through metaphor. It can’t be represented the way a table or a body can . In some ways, pain is the opposite of language.” (pg 89). In a way, John Green has managed to put some of the psychological pain that being mentally ill causes into words, in a way that only living with it and thinking about it A LOT can do.
There are a lot of the tropes that you expect for a teen novel: the high school that everyone hates, the quirky best friend, the love interest. But this, like John Green’s other books, is where it stops being standard YA for me. Aza is a fully formed protagonist. Her best friend Daisy reminded me in some ways so much of you, Jeselyn, that she stopped being just the quirky best friend. There is tragedy and the thought spirals, and love, too. There’s the things we hold on to as we grow, and the things we have to let go even though we don’t want to. There’s being so trapped inside yourself that you forget that other people exist. There’s mental illness, and the reminder that it is something you live with every day, that you are never “cured” of, but something that can be managed.
I really want you to read this book, Jeselyn. Not just because Daisy reminded me of you, but because I know in your work as a librarian, you might be able to put this in the hands of a kid (or adult!) that might need to know that their anxieties, obsessions, and traumas are not something that they have to struggle with alone. Like, it’s not the savior of mental illness for anyone, but it’s a book I would have loved to have read when I was dealing the most with my own anxiety and depression.
Basically, this is a 4.5/5 from me.
Please read it and let me know what you think!
Love,
Brit
As you know, it’s been literal years since I’ve written more than a sentence of anything, let alone a review of something fictional. So this is scatterbrained and quick, but I want to tell you about Turtles All The Way Down by John Green. Look, I know you have *OPINIONS* about his stuff, and you don’t love him as much as I do, but how about this for a spoiler: this is a John Green novel where no one dies at the end! It puts him above 50/50! Hooray!
As is my usual MO with YA novels, I read this book in about 3 hours. Probably a little quick for something that’s going to be reviewed, but I didn’t know I was going to want to review it before I started.
Ok, that’s a lie, because I texted you about 5 pages in telling you how I was sure this was going to be a good one. And it was. Like, it’s been awhile since I read The Fault In Our Stars, but it was better than that.
The thing that made this one special for me is that I could identify with a teen protagonist more than I have since I was an actual teenager. A lot of that had to do with the insular nature of the novel, how much of it is in the main character, Aza’s, head. The prose follows the thought spirals that anyone with anxiety or OCD will recognize and relate to. Aza’s particular obsession involves a lot of body horror, and thoughts about the billions of microbes that live in your body. It’s made clear very early on that Aza has something going on in her head. “By cell count, humans are approximately 50 percent microbial, meaning that about half of the cells that make you up are not yours at all. There are something like a thousand times more microbes living in my particular biome than there are human beings on earth, and it often seems like I can feel them living and breeding and dying in and on me.” (pg 3).
Being a follower of John Green’s internet presence, particularly his projects with his brother, the Vlogbrothers YouTube channel and their podcast, “Dear Hank & John,” I was expecting this. He’s talked a lot about how this book has come out of his struggle with his own mental illness, and you can tell that this book comes from a very deep place, one of those places where the thoughts stay stuck for a long time. In a scene fairly early on in the book, Aza’s therapist says: “One of the challenges with pain--Physical or psychic--is that we can really only approach it through metaphor. It can’t be represented the way a table or a body can . In some ways, pain is the opposite of language.” (pg 89). In a way, John Green has managed to put some of the psychological pain that being mentally ill causes into words, in a way that only living with it and thinking about it A LOT can do.
There are a lot of the tropes that you expect for a teen novel: the high school that everyone hates, the quirky best friend, the love interest. But this, like John Green’s other books, is where it stops being standard YA for me. Aza is a fully formed protagonist. Her best friend Daisy reminded me in some ways so much of you, Jeselyn, that she stopped being just the quirky best friend. There is tragedy and the thought spirals, and love, too. There’s the things we hold on to as we grow, and the things we have to let go even though we don’t want to. There’s being so trapped inside yourself that you forget that other people exist. There’s mental illness, and the reminder that it is something you live with every day, that you are never “cured” of, but something that can be managed.
I really want you to read this book, Jeselyn. Not just because Daisy reminded me of you, but because I know in your work as a librarian, you might be able to put this in the hands of a kid (or adult!) that might need to know that their anxieties, obsessions, and traumas are not something that they have to struggle with alone. Like, it’s not the savior of mental illness for anyone, but it’s a book I would have loved to have read when I was dealing the most with my own anxiety and depression.
Basically, this is a 4.5/5 from me.
Please read it and let me know what you think!
Love,
Brit
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