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

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

2.5

I’m glad this book exists (especially for those with OCD/anxiety disorders) but I did not personally love this book. I love a good plotless book, but this felt like it started with one and then abandoned it, making the plot holes more obvious and frustrating. To be fair, Aza does describe herself as “a story riddled with plot holes”, which I read as a potential attempt at self awareness.

This book was SO BORING. It put me in a reading slump for a full month (along with a similar in a pretentious-mental health-way book, Ottessa Moshfegh’s My Year of Rest and Relaxation) before I finally forced myself to finish it so I could return it. 

I held off on reading any John Green books until now (especially when I was in the target demographic when his most popular books were released), and I can confidently conclude that there is, in fact, way too much “fake deep”ness and forced melancholy for my taste and that YA contemporary just really isn’t my genre. John Green is truly the king of unnecessary and excessive Pretentious Descriptions for literally everything and Excessive Obscure Literary Quotations Used By Teenagers (especially when looking at the sky lol). Teens don’t talk like that!!!

I do think this could be an important read for those looking for a portrayal of OCD written by someone with personal experience, as Green’s writing does emulate the feeling of intrusive thoughts in an interesting and effective way. However, I wish his experience with mental health had been recounted in more of a memoir format - I’m sure his many fans would still read it. 
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