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“Turtles All The Way Down” Review
- Sol
- 3 mar 2018
- 6 Min. de lectura
I don’t know what I expected to read when I picked this book up, but it was not this. I really enjoyed the story, and it kept me at the edge of my seat. I’m not a big fan of John Green’s books, this being the second book I read and one of the only ones I was slightly tempted to read.
WARNING: DO NOT USE MY ART WITHOUT PROPER CREDITING TO THE ORIGINAL ARTIST (a.k.a. myself).
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.
- Summary by Goodreads.
The Plot
I initially thought this book would be mystery with a side of mental illness, not the other way around. The mystery was a touch that didn’t appear much in the book, but I still found myself burning with curiosity about Pickett’s case. This case is what introduced Davis and his little brother Noah into the story. Aza’s anxiety disorder and OCD were really well-developed in the story. It’s often described as an ever-tightening spiral, as a whirlpool, a gyre. All these comparisons make the situation more visual to the reader, and makes it easier to comprehend what it feels like to deal with a severe case of anxiety. The intrusive thoughts she experiences are extremely realistic, and made me relate to Aza, even if I don't suffer from any kind of mental illness.
“I think, you will never be free from this. I think, you don’t pick your thoughts. I think, you are dying, and there are bugs inside of you that will eat through your skin. I think, and think, and think.”
She’s right, sometimes you don’t get to pick your thoughts. And this statement is showed and repeated several times throughout the book.
The Characters
Aza Holmes is a sixteen-year-old girl with a severe case of anxiety disorder and OCD that is described as a spiral of thoughts. Her anxiety gives her a lot of intrusive thoughts, specially about the human microbiota, c. diff., and other diseases that ultimately cause death. She is a relatable character, since she shows weakness often due to her thoughts. She is not some perfect heroine and that’s what made me like her. She is a little irresponsible at times, like when she decided to take her medication once in a few days instead of every day as requested by her doctor, but her motives were understandable and related to her anxiety. Unlike ‘Eliza and Her Monsters’, the protagonist already knows that she is suffering mental illness. Aza has an obsession with the human microbiota. She is constantly worrying whether she contracted a disease called clostridium difficile (c. diff.), which affects the intestine and ultimately leads to death. Every time she gets a minor stomach ache, headache, or weird noise, she gets a panic attack. She is trapped in the spiral of her own thoughts. Random intrusive thoughts would pop into her head, but instead of bugging for a second and then leaving, they scream at her, and she complies with her thoughts just to make the voices shut up. She tries throughout the book to get out of the spiral, and through other people’s perspective she seems very self-centred. The truth is, Aza Holmes hates herself and can only see faults in her being and body. Overall, a conflicted character that I enjoyed reading about whose troubles were expressed clearly and unfiltered.
Davis Pickett is the eldest son of billionaire Russell Pickett, and older brother of 13-year-old Noah Pickett. Davis was, by far, my favourite character. He is a sweet boy who enjoys astronomy, and he writes a blog with poetic and literary quotations, the only place he feels he can express what he feels. He also writes poetry. He is very supportive towards Aza, and never pushes her into doing something she doesn’t want to do. He is awkward and a tad antisocial, and that made me relate to him the most (also, the fact that he likes astronomy). A very important thing about him, though, is that he understands the way Aza is. In his blog, some of his entries describe the way Aza feels within her head.
“I don’t know what superpower William James enjoyed, but I can no more choose my thoughts than choose my name.”
He is self-conscious and a little self-deprecating, much like Aza, but to a lesser degree. But the thing about Davis, the thing that made me love him the most, is that he was constantly trying to make Aza happy, in his own adorably awkward way. He gave her time, he didn’t push her into doing stuff unless she wanted to and didn’t feel disgusted about it. If she felt down, he would do something to cheer her up. He lifted her self-esteem when it was evident it was extremely low. But he was also fighting his own internal battles. He had to take care of Noah, who was not coping with the disappearance of their father. He felt confused, grieved, and maybe a little lonely. All of this made him such an interesting character to read about. Daisy Ramírez is a bold and fearless sixteen year old, and Aza’s best friend. She is a nice character, funny and loud, but sometimes she was a bit annoying. In those particular bits I felt as though she didn’t understand what Aza had to go through. I thought she was a little unsympathetic. But that’s because we didn’t know how she felt about certain situations until later in the book. She loves Aza, but has mixed feelings about her. They are partners-in-crime, and most of the time they made a good pair. Most of the time, actually, I really liked Daisy. She is supportive of her friend, and is a total chatterbox. She loves Star Wars, and has really good morals that she sticks to throughout the book (the debate whether Chewbacca was a person or not). She is a strong and independent character who is usually the key to solving the mystery.
Writing style
It was very poetic, a style that I don’t usually find appealing, but it definetly suited this story. The story was told from Aza’s POV, and she, like I mentioned previously, used metaphors and comparisons to express what it felt like to deal with mental illness. What I liked the most is that Aza internally talked like an adult but externally as the teenager she was. Words as 'like' and 'um' were used repeatedly in the dialogues, which added credibility to the story.
Overall, this was a wonderful book, and totally unexpected. It surpassed my expectations. It doesn’t have a happy ending exactly, but a realistic one that enhances one of the messages of the story: ‘Life is not a Disney movie’ and, to quote the book once more:
“‘The problem with happy endings,’ I said, ‘is that they are either not happy or not endings, you know? In real life, some things get better and some things get worse.’”
This book is about loyal and lasting friendship, first love, OCD, anxiety disorder, and resilience. John Green wrote a wonderful book that left me shocked and pleased. I recommend it to anybody who is not looking for a light book, but a deep one like Turtles All The Way Down.
Rating: 5/5 stars
Did you like this review? Are you now interested in reading the book? If your answer was yes, then, great! This is a very good book (take into consideration that I am pretty flexible when it comes to books, and about 80 percent of books I read get a rating of 4 stars or more. You might be stricter regarding all of the aspects analyzed in the blog, so beware). If you didn't, that's okay! More reviews are on their way, and maybe you will find one of the books appealing.
Do you want to buy the book? Just click the pink button! Or, you could go to your local bookstore!
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