Turtles All the Way Down, by: John Green

       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. 

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My Rating: ★★★★☆

       I received a copy of Turtles All the Way Down as a gift this past Christmas, and I finally got around to reading it. There has been a ton of hype surrounding this story, so my expectations were higher than usual, but in the end, it did live up to those expectations. I’m glad I got a chance to read this book, and am happy that people in the future can read it and hopefully further understand what it’s like to live with a mental illness.
       John Green’s writing style is what I like to call “style goals”. He can make me feel every single type of emotion with the simplest of sentences—it’s incredible. This story made me laugh, made me sad, and made me stressed; sometimes all at the same time. I can never figure out exactly what makes his talent special, but it can affect me in a way that other authors can’t.
       Another thing that I love about all of John Green’s books is that they’re all set in the good old midwest. That’s right, your in-house blogger is born and bred in the vast cornfields of Illinois. Being able to connect with the setting of a midwestern town is always something I enjoy. Relatability is something that makes or breaks a book with me, and this setting made the novel.
       One of my favorite things about this book is how insightful it is to the people who want to learn what life with anxiety is actually like. I’m not someone who has it, but I have a couple of friends who do. They’ve explained on a couple of occasions what it’s like to live with it, and I believe it to be an excellent representation of this illness. It’s one thing for people like me to “know” what these people have to deal with on a daily basis, but reading a story like this where Aza herself shows us what it’s like is something entirely different. John Green has written this complicated situation in a way where I feel like I can truly understand what these people deal with every day.
       Overall, TATWD was a remarkable book and one that all people should read.

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       Have you read Turtles All the Way Down? What did you think of it? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Your more informed blogger,
Ashton

​Your now is not your forever.

― John Green, Turtles All the Way Down