Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - Turtles All the Way Down

Very quick read (listen)! Aza and her inner voice are compelling and engaging. The plot outside of Aza is interesting and moves the story along without taking from or forcing the conversation around Aza's intrusive thoughts and actions.

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lion_ess's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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cosmicbooklover1's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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bummblebri's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Although my anxiety may not be the extreme explored in the book, reading through the perspective of someone who struggles with these thought spirals hits hard. I feel mental illness is still not openly discussed (although awareness is better) and its almost cathartic reading this book. The writing and themes are simple enough for a younger audience to understand while still evoking some intense emotions. The second half of the book is definitely a lot heavier. If you struggle with mental illness, specifically OCD or anxiety, I would definitely save this read for when you are in a good head space. But this book is definitely worth a read!

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beckychristina's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

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

This is my first John Green YA novel that I’ve read as an adult. I adored his books as a teen and was nervous to come back to his YA work as an adult, but I didn’t need to be. I had forgotten that Green treats teens as adults in ways that other authors do not.

This is book was a challenging read, it wasn’t easy to spend time in the head of someone with such severe anxiety. I did feel like the depiction was honest, but personally found it to be too much. Imagine this would be far more tolerable for less sensitive readers.
That being said, I did enjoy the book and I’m glad to have read it. The relationships in the novel were so realistic. I particularly loved the hopeful, but not happily ever after note this book ended on.

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