Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Trigger Warning: Self-Harm, Anxiety, OCD, Intrusive thoughts
Exact rating: 4.5/5
This is your typical John Green book. It had your refreshingly intelligent teenagers, poetic expressions I wish I used every day, a variety of charming quirks and very relatable personalities. I did appreciate the portrayal of OCD and intrusive thoughts (as someone who suffers from intrusive thoughts). Aza as an MC and her interactions with people around resonated with me, especially as someone who saw people I cared about going through similar things – despite most not having the same support. I will admit that if you don’t like super deep and philosophical writing that’ll make you self-evaluate too much, then this will be a pass for you.
BUT!
My -0.5 rating is me liking the missing-billionaire subplot.. but not that much. The thing I appreciate is that it’s understood that crossing paths with someone won’t affect everything else in else in their lives and there are situations and circumstances where sympathy isn’t enough.
I will say, I’ve always been iffy with John Green books and even though this isn’t my Looking for Alaska (which is due for a re-read), it’s one that’ll affect me for a very long time. His beautiful writing, the way he doesn’t dumb down the severity of living with mental health issues is great! Teenagers are very intelligent, despite all the people who think they can’t comprehend “grown people things”; mental health issues aren’t a small, dismissable thing to go through and John Green has added another book to prove this exact point.
I’m glad I started off the year with this book.
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