Review: Turtles All the Way Down

Turtles All the Way Down
by John Green

Publisher: Dutton Books for Young People
Publication Date: October 10, 2017

John Green has done what I thought was impossible: he has out-John Greened himself. This is TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN in a nutshell: an emotional tale riddled with obscure literary references that only someone who has read an entire library would understand, the quirky best friend(TM), and too many internal monologues to count ...and I loved every second of it. More than just a romance, or a look at teenage friendship, or a coming of age adventure, TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN is about personal struggles with mental health and the inescapability of one's own mind. Aza, the main character, tries to live her life and not be controlled by her "thought spirals", but is held back by the very thing only she has control of: herself.

This book was a bit different from some of Green's other books, in that it was less plot based and more based on the internal emotions of the main character, but I think that he was really able to convey true and raw depth of the characters, especially Aza. His own personal experiences with mental health are visible through Aza; her struggles don't seem fake or exaggerated and are grounded in the roots of John Green's own fight. This is not a book to read passively; it demands a deep connection from the reader to actively root for and against the characters, often at the same time. Following the publication of this book, there is likely to be a trend in YA focusing on mental health, as seen in the effect of Green's other books after their releases, yet I doubt any of them will be able to match the caliber and power of TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN. There were definitely some problems, don't get me wrong. The freedom of these 16 to 17 year olds to do whatever they wanted is highly implausible, and the lack of any actively responsible parental figures is a bit strange, but these are commonly overlooked in YA fiction, whether it be a misunderstanding of the lives of modern teens or the need to further the plot, but it doesn't have too much of a negative effect on the novel as a whole. I was really impressed at this book overall, and hope that John Green doesn't take as long to write his next one.