Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

I would describe myself as a low-key John Green fan. I've read all of his books; some of them I have liked (Paper Towns, The Fault in Our Stars), and some of them I haven't (An Abundance of Katherines, Will Grayson, Will Grayson). Still, when Turtles All the Way Down came out in 2017, I was excited. It had been awhile since his last book, and I was interested to see what he would come up with next. When the novel came out, I bought it right away, and then, you know, I never got around to reading it. Accordingly, I put it on my Finally in 2019 list, since I've been meaning to get to it for a few years now.

The plot is a bit difficult to describe, but I'll give it a shot. The story follows sixteen-year-old Aza Holmes, a high school student living in Indianapolis. Her father passed away a few years prior, and she is still grieving the loss. She is also struggling with a pretty serious anxiety disorder, and has a fixation on germs and cleanliness, specifically gut bacteria. Her obsessive thoughts about what she's eating, touching, etc. and how those things might catapult her into a deadly illness frequently interrupt her life. She has been prescribed medication and is seeing a psychiatrist about these issues, but she only takes her medicine sometimes and worries constantly about how the medication changes her thoughts.

Her life takes a turn when she reunites with an old childhood friend of hers, Davis Pickett. Pickett's father, under investigation for fraud and bribery, has recently disappeared. He fled his home on the eve of him being arrested, leaving Pickett and his little brother, Noah, behind. The police are offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to his capture. Aza's best friend, Daisy, sees the situation as an opportunity to do a little amateur sleuthing and make some money. Knowing that Aza knew Pickett when they were kids, she convinces her to go visit him so they can search for clues as to the whereabouts of his father.

The connection between Aza and Pickett is instant, and soon she is trying to navigate having a romantic relationship alongside of her anxiety disorder. She feels the beginnings of love for Pickett, but is unable to hold hands or kiss without having intrusive thoughts about the bacteria she might be picking up. Her stress over the situation, and the friction that starts to creep into all of her relationships because of it, leads her down a dark spiral that she must try to find her way out of.

It's a shame that I took so long to read this novel, because for me, this is John Green's best work. Aza's character is well developed and her anxiety is rendered perfectly on the page. Her voice feels accurate; her obsessive thoughts feel true. This is a very realistic portrayal of mental illness. The other story elements, like the romantic relationship with Pickett and the search for Pickett's missing father, provide a great backdrop to the story and don't take away from the main focus, which is Aza's mental health and her struggle to cope with it. I raced through this novel in just two days, and I was completely engaged from page one.

A lot of the elements that usually irk me in a John Green novel were definitely toned down here. The snark wasn't overdone, and while the teen characters were still impossibly clever at times, it wasn't overwhelming to me. Perhaps most importantly, there wasn't a manic pixie dream girl to take over the plot and bewitch the protagonist. The story is told from Aza's point of view, and her quirks are far from charming. The fact that Pickett likes her in spite of them was a nice change. Overall, I thought this work felt mature, and I appreciated the underlying message about how all we can do is move forward through the messy imperfections in our lives.

While the book was definitely engaging throughout, I have to make a special mention of the ending. I really like the way Green chose to end this story. It was realistic, a bit sad, and a bit hopeful too. He works a small piece of Aza's future into the narrative, and I really enjoyed his choice to do so there. It was one of the better endings to a young adult book that I've read. 

Turtles All the Way Down is the second novel I have read in my Finally in 2019 Challenge, and it's another complete winner. I'm so happy that I'm starting off the year with a string of great books! Last year, I felt like I just didn't click with a lot of my choices, so it's been nice to really fall in love with some literature again. I'm hoping I can keep up this excitement throughout the whole year! 


Challenge Tally
Finally in 2019: 2/6 Books Read

Total Books Read in 2019: 4