Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Tortues à l'Infini by John Green

34 reviews

lawbooks600's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• 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

Representation: Minor Asian characters
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.

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Content Warnings

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

serenityxnicole's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Mental illness, Bullying, Vomit, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Abandonment, Blood, Toxic friendship, Chronic illness, Medical content, and Death of parent

Minor: Car accident

singerscientist's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Chronic illness, Grief, and Mental illness

Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Car accident, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Self harm

mckiheather's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Abandonment

Minor: Medical content, Car accident, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail

rachelann88's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad fast-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

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Self harm

Moderate: Death of parent and Abandonment

Minor: Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Classism, and Vomit

lavendervinegar's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Jfc
Cried a small.
Green has a supernatural (or maybe natural) to make the most beautiful, life-exploring stories out of tragedy.
Top 10 mental illness narratives (I haven't read thr Bell Jar yet)
Might be my favorite fiction from him, but Alaska is really close.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Abandonment, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death, Cursing, Grief, and Self harm

Moderate: Classism

maryfranvs's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Blood and Self harm

Minor: Vomit

writewithapendragon's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Cursing, Alcohol, Medical trauma, and Medical content

I probably missed a few I read this strictly during nighttime baby feeds.

drawahardline's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective

• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

didn't expect it to be perfect, but I think it was

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Self harm, Car accident, and Abandonment

Moderate: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Death, Chronic illness, and Vomit

Minor: Alcohol

donnas_troia's review against another edition

emotional inspiring sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, and Self harm