A review by cath_reads_books
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-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

give this a solid 3 of 5 stars. The characters in the book are fully developed, but honestly some of them are a little insufferable. I found myself questioning through the entire book whether Daisy was actually a good friend to Aza. Oftentimes Daisy was just straight up mean; as someone who claims to understand how Aza’s mind works and to be accommodating of that, she sure wasn’t at times. Re-framing this story as coming from the perspectives of children rather than mini-adults did help some.

In addition to being a coming of age novel, this book was also a portrait of grief. It showed how people don’t ever really move on from a loss, it just fits into their life in a different way as time goes by. The grief in this book didn’t absolutely rip my heart out like The Fault In Our Stars did, but it did make me feel things. I think I also have a better idea of what it’s like to live with chronic anxiety now; I love when books have something to teach me. 

Overall a decent book, but not my favorite by John Green. He’s written better in my opinion.
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