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lazulisky's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Medical content, Self harm, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Blood
jerbarger's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Death, Medical content, Mental illness, Grief, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm
Moderate: Classism, Blood, and Ableism
Minor: Toxic friendship and Vomit
jessiesnoww's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Grief, and Self harm
Moderate: Vomit, Car accident, and Blood
earth_to_dani's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Body shaming, Blood, Dysphoria, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Car accident, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Mental illness
callidoralblack's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Mental illness and Abandonment
Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Self harm, Blood, Death of parent, and Medical content
Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, Alcoholism, Death, and Suicidal thoughts
lindasoderlundd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Car accident, Abandonment, Mental illness, and Medical content
Moderate: Vomit, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Blood
pandemonicbaby's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Usually, when characters with OCD show uo in media, they're made fun of for their quirkyness. We never get to see what the world looks like for them, and their concerns are always dismissed by other characters and by the narrative itself.
Aza's struggles with crippling intrusive thoughts and compulsions felt very real, and I found myself comparing my own personal struggle to hers.
This book didn't show a solution to Aza's problems, a magical way to solve everything and "be normal". But it did show that life goes on, and that things can get better, and that being with the people you love can at least help attenuate the suffering, even if just a little, because one of the worst things about OCD is that it makes you believe you are left to suffer alone, with no one to understand you or help you. And true, most people don't understand, but they can try their best to be there for you when you need it.
I thought this was a very tender story about a first love, about friendships and trying to find peace within yourself. It's not an easy journey, but it's not one that you have to do alone.
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Blood, Toxic friendship, Grief, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
The main character struggles pretty heavily with mental health in this book, and although there are no attempts of suicide or explicit suicidal thoughts, there are some thought spirals and intrusive thoughts and depictions of panick attacks that might trigger some people.eventide's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Self harm, Blood, Car accident, Medical content, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
cande_luvisotti's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, and Grief
lawbooks600's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Score: Six out of ten.
Turtles All the Way Down. What a unique title. Unfortunately, this one didn't meet my expectations, and it wasn't as good as John Green's The Fault in Our Stars. I wanted to read this one for a while after enjoying the other one, but I put it off for a few months before I saw it and picked it up. When I closed the final page, I thought it was okay.
It starts with Aza Holmes trying to find where Russell Picket, a billionaire, is with her friend Daisy in the opening pages. That isn't the central storyline, though, the central storyline is where Aza starts a relationship with Russell's son, Davis. There isn't a lot of plot beside that, and there are some filler pages which could've been removed for a tighter reading experience. Turtles All the Way Down is less than 300 pages but it feels longer than that, more like 400, because the pacing is tedious to read. I get that Green tried to execute a slow burn, but it only works with well-written characters, and, unfortunately, it didn't work here. The dialogue is contrived as people speak like philosophers and not people. I thought we were over this. Apparently not.
The characters are likable but I found it hard to connect or relate with them, and Green briefly touches upon the subject of loss when Aza talks about her father, who is now deceased, but he doesn't deeply explore it. That seems like a missed opportunity there to add another subplot. The narrative sends two messages as I read through it, the first is you can't always get what you want when Aza tries but does not succeed in finding the billionaire. The climax is bittersweet as the relationship builds toward the concluding pages but the payoff isn't there as Aza and Davis aren't together in the end, leading to the second message, life goes on. Wait. I saw that in other books I've read from other authors, so it's not that original. Also, where are the support systems? Aza does self-harm but gets away with it, and no one supported her, even with her OCD.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Death, and Blood
Full trigger warnings: Death of a father in the past, car crash, physical injury, self-harm, chronic illness, blood depiction