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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
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.
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 depictionserenityxnicole'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
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
kim_lommaert's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, and Self harm
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, and Medical content
Minor: Car accident, Blood, and Vomit
katariinatoivanen's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, and Blood
annie_crossings's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
once again phenomenal. absolutely devastating read. aza’s struggles sometimes so closely parallel my own from when i was her age that i can’t believe she wasn’t based off of me at times. her spiralings on the belief of self are somehow inquisitive and interesting and horrifying and real. john greens writing is like a waterfall, so rich and honest, like a stream of consciousness that’s been composed into elegance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Death of parent, and Blood
Moderate: Car accident, Grief, Confinement, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical content
Minor: Bullying, Alcohol, and Classism
kosmos42o's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Dysphoria, Medical content, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Self harm, Death of parent, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Death, Vomit, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Vomit and Body horror
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood and Self harm
Minor: Vomit
petrichorandcoffee's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
An honest, compelling representation of OCD in a way I've never read before - very hard to read (emotionally) and very well done. A lot of the dialogue and romance between Davis and Aza is, for lack of a better word, cringey (it feels like it is trying way too hard to be "deep"). Some great one-liners. The crux of the plot (the missing person's case) has some serious holes. Some interesting commentary on the different layers of wealth and privilege - not revolutionary or anything, but interesting. Overdone a little when it comes to the mother/daughter conversations about Davis. I like how it showed how challenging it can be to love someone who struggles with Aza's form of OCD, and also how it isn't Aza's fault.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Mental illness, and Self harm
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Blood
choco_bunbun's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Blood
bardic_llama's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.0
I find Green’s stuff to be meh. Like it’s not the worst stuff I’ve read but not the best y’know. He’s definitely has his niche. Last one of his books I read was Paper Towns when the movie was coming out and I didn’t really like that one either. Then again I had only read it at the request of my friends. Main reason I was reading this one was mostly just to give it another try and unlike Paper Towns, I thought I’d actually like this one. Was somewhat surprised to find out I enjoyed reading Paper Towns more.
But with this one, the plot just carried on towards nowhere. It had a mystery aspect to it that was interesting but it was barely touched on in comparison to lackluster romance. One pro of it was the mental health aspect. The main character has OCD and the way her inner dialogue is written really showcases her struggles with it well. I do think that does have to do with John having OCD himself, not that his experience is the exactly the same as the character’s. Overall it was somewhat disappointing as the characters are likable even with their flaws. Granted, while I don’t think teenagers about to go to college are quoting academia as directly to the source as the ones in his book are, the dialogue is still realistic despite it. Like I can see people having the conversations they have.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Car accident