Turtles All the Way Down

by John Green

[Joséphine]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

Initial thoughts: I genuinely liked the characters and the way they were portrayed in Turtles All the Way Down, which surprised me. They were clever and resorted to philosophical musings, just as most other characters in the John Green book I've read but here, I didn't think they were trying too hard. Turtles All the Way Down was also very raw in dealing with mental health, particularly anxiety and OCD. That made it difficult to read this book at times, and made me squirm uncomfortably at the no-holds-barred description. I welcomed that because it's important to talk about these things.

The reason I didn't like Turtles All the Way Down more was the plot — or rather, the lack of it. The plot happened by the way, as the main characters lived their day-to-day lives. What made that approach so weird was that the conflict directly impacted Davis, and yet, it didn't even come across as very significant most of the time; only then when it was convenient. Many of the implications were addressed superficially or completely swept under the rug. On that front, Turtles All the Way Down completely missed the mark.

Nonetheless, the navigation of friendships, family, and relationships were done really well. In conjunction with Aza's personal struggles, Turtles All the Way Down still had quite a bit to offer readers.