Turtles All the Way Down

by John Green

FEATURED ON 60 MINUTES and FRESH AIR

“So surprising and moving and true that I became completely unstrung.” – The New York Times

Named a best book of the year by: The New York Times, NPR, TIME, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Entertainment Weekly, Southern Living, Publishers Weekly, BookPage, A.V. Club, Bustle, BuzzFeed, Vulture, and many more!

JOHN GREEN, the acclaimed author of Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars, returns with a story of shattering, unflinching clarity in this brilliant novel of love, resilience, and the power of lifelong friendship.

Aza Holmes never intended to pursue the disappearance 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 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.

• ISBN10: 0525555366
• ISBN13: 9780525555360
• Publish Date: 10 October 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Dutton Books for Young Readers
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780525555360

Reviews

[maggiefan]

I did not expect to give 2 stars to John Green's book... But here we are!

[writehollydavis]

TBH, I almost DNF'd this book. I was 2.5 hours into the 7.5 hour audiobook and wasn't feeling the story so far, which was slow, plus I didn't feel attached to any of the characters. This being my first John Green book, I trucked on to see what all the hype over him was about. Welp, I'm glad I kept reading because this book gave me some serious FEELS. I became so caught up in Aza's spiraling thoughts with her anxiety and her OCD. Seriously, I powered through this because of her OCD. I heard that John Green has the same one, and it just floored me how people could actually think this way. The plot picked up, and I cared not only for Holmsey (as Aza was so affectionately nicknamed) but for Daisy and Davis as well. John Green's writing made me catch my breath at its beauty and wisdom at times, and I'm so so lucky I didn't stop reading. 4.5/5 stars, the ding for the slow start. I can't wait for his next book now! Perhaps that means I should pick up one of his older ones. :)

[Nessa Luna]

3,5 stars, maybe? Idk how I feel about this book tbh.

[boghunden]

Fuck. Definitely lived up to my expectations!!!

[elvinagb]

It was just ok. I liked the ending.

[teachergorman]

I'm not sure if books can be prescribed rather than just recommended, but if so, I would encourage doctors to prescribe this to people suffering from severe anxiety and to the friends and family trying to understand their loved one's condition. I actually really struggled with this book at times. It made me cry at one point and made me pretty depressed at another, and I don't suffer from anxiety or depression. Then I got to the point where I thought I couldn't quit because I would obsess over the feelings the book had brought about, so I powered through, and I was very pleased by the ending. This one will stick with me.

[Steph L]

Turtles All The Way Down By John Green
Summary from Amazon
It’s quite rare to find someone who sees the same world you see.

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.

The start of this book was a new style of story for John someone who is known for the teen troupe stereotype, but that’s what we loved him for. This book was set up differently a very anxious character Aza is, and to me, it was very refreshing a very nice change. I love Aza and Daisy from the first few pages. As you get further into the story you meet the Davis, who remembers Aza from all those years ago. I really like the kind of dynamic that Aza and Davis have at the start of the introduction to her character. If I could rate this book higher than a 5 I would!!!!!

As the book progresses, and we find out more about these characters and they become real to us, John’s writing really shines through. He writes these really great characters, different from his other characters in ways, but they do have some similarities to the other characters that he writes as well.As the plot progress, and as you find out more about these characters it is very easy to fall in love with them more and more. They’re all flawed, and they all have their issues but these characters show that it is okay to have flaws and embrace them. The end of the book my oh my if you have read the book you know what I am talking about here! I loved it, and I was crying by the end of this book.

Characters
Aza
Daisy
Davis
Mychal

Writing
I really enjoyed the style of the writing in this book. It was intricate and very well written. This book seemed like it was very well researched as well. From the discussion of the mental illness main character Aza has, you can really see that this was very heavily researched. I could also tell that the Star Wars fan fiction aspects were researched very well.

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 4.5 Stars

I am glad I did to let the internet scare me off from this one, because I sort of loved it. I have always been a fan of John Green's characters. They always come off as wise beyond their years, yet simultaneously teen-aged.

Anybody can look at you. It's quite rare to find someone who sees the same world you see.

I had read a lot of negative things about Daisy, but to be honest, I had no issue with her. There was a point, about three quarters of the way through the book, where the best friends hit a bump, but that's sort of realistic when it comes to relationships. It's was also very honest. I know my mental illness has run off many people, and I appreciate that Daisy stuck by Aza.

True terror isn't being scared; it's not having a choice in the matter.

I kept expecting the "billionaire mystery" to be a HUGE part of this story, as I saw a lot of grumbling about that too. But, it was actually a small part of this story, and in my opinion, I think it was only there as a means to set other things in motion.

"Actually, the problem is that I can't lose my mind," I said. "It's inescapable."

I will admit, I shed tears as I read the ending. Green gave me so much in those final few pages. It may not have been exactly what I wanted, I mean, I wish one thing would have been different, but he did give me that peek into Aza's future, and I am grateful for that.

I would always be like this, always have this within me. There was no beating it. I would never slay the dragon, because the dragon was also me.

Overall: I greatly enjoyed meeting and getting to know Aza. As always, Green gave us witty banter, but he also gave us a lot of insight into how it is to struggle with OCD and anxiety.

[jesstheaudiobookworm]

4.75 ★ Audiobook⎮ I love John Green books. I just do. Turtles All the Way Down has reaffirmed that. It has made me want to go on a John Green binge and listen to all of his remaining titles that I have yet to hear.

I’m ranking Turtles All the Way Down as my second favorite John Green novel thus far, after Paper Towns. I agree that Green has breathed new life into the young adult contemporary genre. His writing is philosophical without being patronizing. The existentialist within me revels in Green’s writing. And it is so very quotable. For example, “If only I were as good at life as I am at the internet.” I need that on a T-shirt or a mug or something.

Or something deeper like, “Every loss is unprecedented. You can’t ever know someone else’s hurt, not really – just like touching someone else’s body isn’t the same as having someone else’s body.” I had to pause the audiobook but after hearing that and just reflect on it for a few moments. It kind of blew me away. Green’s writing is so beautifully profound, yet still relatable. He manages to put words to things that I’ve felt, that we’ve all probably felt, but have been unable to properly describe.

As for the story itself, Turtles All the Way Down was very different from the other John Green stories I’ve heard in the past. I really enjoyed Aza as a protagonist, but especially her interactions with the other characters. I was able to relate with Aza to a certain extent. After that, it was just empathy all the way. I think that’s what I love most about John Green’s writing: He makes me feel human. Like, really human. His characters evoke compassion, sympathy, empathy, and even a sense of vulnerability from the reader. They help me get in touch with the inner humanity that connects us all and better appreciate the human experience.

Aza was so multidimensional that she practically came to life for me. She didn’t feel like just a character in a book. She felt so real and my heart ached for wanting to reach out to her. In my opinion, Aza was Green’s best character yet. She was flawed, yet endearing. It was her flaws that made her so relatable. Aza was portrayed in a way that allowed the reader to be able to appreciate her struggle, even without having first-hand experience of it. Even more, Aza’s anxiety disorder was not used to portray a sense of “alluring individuality”. Green has come a long way from writing “manic pixie girls”.

Narration review: At this point, I think Kate Rudd is my most listened to narrator of all time. If that’s not an overwhelming endorsement, I don’t know what is. It’s not even that I’m actively seeking out her books anymore. But every time I turnaround, BAM! There she is. And you know what? I’m just fine with that. She deserves every bit of it. Needless to say, Rudd hit another homerun with Turtles All the Way Down. Brava, Madam. ♣︎

[alisoninbookland]

All the talk about spirals and anxiety is right on the money.