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A review by amberlinaa
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
5.0
I am one of those people who love books involving mental health as a part of the narrative. Some books focus solely on the mental health problem and succeed, however the vast majority of writers who write books involving mental health tend to go to the more cliché route, which to be honest has begun to get very played out. This book was very, hyped up before I had got hold of it as it was representing mental health accurately. And as I have recently done research on the ‘representation of mental health’ I was eager to get my hands on this book.
John Green portrayed the mental health of character, Aza, so accurately I was instantly drawn in and could not put the book down. Somehow John Green has managed to create another spectacular masterpiece. Somehow John Green managed to make the book about mental health without it being the main story. The story revolved Aza and her best friend Daisy who are hunting for a fugitive billionaire who happens to be their old friend’s father. Aza is just curious however her friend, Daisy, is mainly in it for the $100,000 reward.
During the book I was hanging on every word John Green wrote and after finishing it I was unsure whether I should be happy that I had the opportunity to read this book or sad that it had ended. I wish the book had more of a close, as there was still questions left unanswered for me. Like I wanted to know more about what happened with Aza’s OCD and all about the developing relationship between Aza and Davis. I feel like this book could’ve easily been a bit longer so it could close up all loose ends. Like as silly as it sounds I really wanted to know more about Daisy and what happens to her and Noah.
In the book Aza was too scared to kiss Davis due to her obsessive fear of being contaminated and I wanted to know if she ever was able to do things without worrying.
Although he did not end as nice as it could’ve been I do like how he wasn’t afraid to make his characters suffer. A vast majority of authors make treat their character so nicely and don’t let anything bad happen to them, making the story dry. John Green however was not afraid to let his characters suffer. The genuine struggles of the character Aza were so well written it didn’t make me want to throw the book with rage at the lack of intelligence some authors have relating to mental health.
Furthermore about the mental health representation, I really enjoyed how it was written as a mini-narrative accompanying the main narrative, I felt it worked very effectively.
As much I am praising this book, of course like any other there are things I don’t like about it. For example, there is a lack of diversity in this book, the characters (excluding Daisy) are privileged and very well off.
Despite all the loose ends this book left untied, I would definitely recommend it to everyone. If you don’t understand what it is like to live with a mental health problems, this book depicts them so perfectly that I don’t think I have read another book talk about mental health so well.
John Green portrayed the mental health of character, Aza, so accurately I was instantly drawn in and could not put the book down. Somehow John Green has managed to create another spectacular masterpiece. Somehow John Green managed to make the book about mental health without it being the main story. The story revolved Aza and her best friend Daisy who are hunting for a fugitive billionaire who happens to be their old friend’s father. Aza is just curious however her friend, Daisy, is mainly in it for the $100,000 reward.
During the book I was hanging on every word John Green wrote and after finishing it I was unsure whether I should be happy that I had the opportunity to read this book or sad that it had ended. I wish the book had more of a close, as there was still questions left unanswered for me. Like I wanted to know more about what happened with Aza’s OCD and all about the developing relationship between Aza and Davis. I feel like this book could’ve easily been a bit longer so it could close up all loose ends. Like as silly as it sounds I really wanted to know more about Daisy and what happens to her and Noah.
In the book Aza was too scared to kiss Davis due to her obsessive fear of being contaminated and I wanted to know if she ever was able to do things without worrying.
Although he did not end as nice as it could’ve been I do like how he wasn’t afraid to make his characters suffer. A vast majority of authors make treat their character so nicely and don’t let anything bad happen to them, making the story dry. John Green however was not afraid to let his characters suffer. The genuine struggles of the character Aza were so well written it didn’t make me want to throw the book with rage at the lack of intelligence some authors have relating to mental health.
Furthermore about the mental health representation, I really enjoyed how it was written as a mini-narrative accompanying the main narrative, I felt it worked very effectively.
As much I am praising this book, of course like any other there are things I don’t like about it. For example, there is a lack of diversity in this book, the characters (excluding Daisy) are privileged and very well off.
Despite all the loose ends this book left untied, I would definitely recommend it to everyone. If you don’t understand what it is like to live with a mental health problems, this book depicts them so perfectly that I don’t think I have read another book talk about mental health so well.