Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

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Publication date: 2017
Publisher: Dutton Books
Pages: 304
My rating: 3.5 stars
Ages: 16+

Aza Holmes finds herself on an ever tightening spiral of thoughts and compulsions, unsure why her friends stay with her and how to be better. When the father of an old acquaintance goes missing, Aza finds herself in the middle of Davis's life and worries.

This isn't so much a mystery story as it is about a girl trying to live with her mental illness. What I appreciate about this is that Aza's illness isn't shown as some quirky thing that helps her solve the Case of the Missing Father. It isn't something that is easily overcome or only happens when it's convenient. But at the same time, it doesn't mean that she also isn't just a teenager at times. It is neither consuming of her every moment nor only in some moments.  It's a spiral, which sometime is tight and unmanageable and sometimes wide and maintainable. If these descriptions seem to contradict themselves, it's because that is what mental illness is—a conundrum of inconsistencies.

I found Aza somewhat relatable, as I did her friend Daisy and her mom and Davis. People are more than just one trait and I think that Green showed that. Compared to The Fault in Our Stars, this wasn't as emotionally wrenching (I didn't find myself sobbing), but more true to life.

There was some hard language and talk about sex (not explicit).

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