Book Review: Turtles All The Way Down by John Green

Hello Everyone!

I’m back for the second week in the row after taking my break to focus on exams, so I’m doing well with getting back into the blogging scene. If you follow me on Instagram(@theoriginalbookdragon), then you will probably know that i haven’t been reading nearly as much this year because of how much school work I have had, but i am getting back on track now. I recently read Turtles All The Way Down by John Green and fell head over heels in love with it, so I thought I would review it for you all because I haven’t written a review in so long or talked about books in a while either, so I really wanted to get my thoughts out.

As I’m sure you can guess, I gave Turtles All The Way Down 5/5 stars for many reasons that I am about to discuss. This is going to be a spoiler-free review as well, so anyone can read it!I think one of the most impressive things about John Green’s latest book though is how much I didn’t want to put it down. I couldn’t manage to read it in one sitting because I have just had far too much to do, but let it be known that i would have if I had been given half a chance.I haven’t felt that excited to pick up a book since last summer and felt my mind wandering to it whenever I wasn’t reading it and I still do every now and then, which I think shows just how much of an impact it had on me.That’s enough gushing though, let’s get into the proper review:

The first thing I wanted to talk about is how TATWD compares to John Green’s other books: I have read all of his books and have loved pretty much all of them, but I honestly think this is his best one so far. His writing style seems to have evolved and improved significantly in his latest book and it only makes me love his writing even more. I’m always a little skeptical when I read the blurb of a John Green book because they’re usually a little weird, but they are never what I expect them to be. John Green has a real magic touch when it comes to writing because he can make the most normal situations seem magical and finds little meanings in everything. Turtles All The Way Down was no exception. I know not everyone is a fan of John Green’s characters because they think they are unrealistically smart for their age, but I happen to strongly disagree. I myself am quite a philosophical person and also quite an intelligent one for my age. I see myself in so many of John Green’s characters, which I love about his stories because I often find it difficult to connect to some characters that aren’t at the same level of maturity as I am and I think many people underestimate the intelligence of teenagers.

I have talked a little about my own struggles with mental illness on here now, so I’m not going to go into too much detail, but I do struggle with anxiety and depression. Our main character Aza suffers from OCD (like John Green himself) and although my mental struggles differ from Aza’s, I still felt so completely understood. I got to see a lot of Aza’s internal dialouge and the way she talked to herself, which I think will sound familiar for a lot of people with mental illness, which made her mental illness so much more real. I saw her battle with herself and fight back against the illness in such normal day to day scenarios that made it so realistic to read about.

I don’t have a great deal to say about the other characters other than they were really well written. Something I really love about John Green’s writing is that he tells the story through the main characters eyes, so we only see and know as much about the other characters as they do. We see them through Aza’s filters with her opinions and distractions on top and I love that because I think it makes it all the more realistic. I know a lot of people don’t like it that much because they feel the other characters aren’t as well developed, but I disagree because it is something he clearly does on purpose. All of John Green’s books have some sort of moral or lesson that the main character learns and they are almost always internal discoveries. We read his books through the main characters eyes instead of from a birds-eye view, so we only see what they main character sees when it comes to the other characters, which I like because it means I can focus on the main character and really go on the journey with them because that is what his books are about. There are rarely big plot twists in his stories, so it is more just the characters living their lives with a spontaneous road trip here and there learning about themselves, so it makes sense to me that the other characters don’t get as much of a look in as they are only a small part of the main story. In my opinion anyway. How do you feel about John Green’s writing style?

The final thing I really wanted to talk about it the relationship that Aza has with her best friend Daisy because I freaking adored it! I can hands down say that I have never ever read a better, more realistic friendship in my life. Both me and my best friend struggle with mental health, so to see how Daisy and Aza interact and the friction that appears in their relationship because of Aza’s struggles was amazing. Have a mental illness does affect those around you and it is often difficult to explain to those who don’t have one that there are some things that you just can’t do and I can’t thank John Green enough for portraying that. I especially love that he didn’t really say that either girl was right or wrong. Aza needs what she needs and does get wrapped up in her own head and that isn’t her fault. Daisy is perfectly within her right to be upset that Aza doesn’t pay attention some times, but at the end of the day the frustration they feel with each other becomes irrelevant because they are still the best of friends and it really warmed my heart.

Realistically, I coud talk about this book for hours, but I don’t want to make this review too long and just end up rambling, so I will leave it here with just a few of my favourite things. I clearly love Turtles All The Way Down and I hope that you’ll all give it a read if you haven’t allready! (Although I expect you have because I’m about a year and a half late to this bandwagon 😂) Before I go I just wanted to place a few trigger warnings on this book for OCD, The Hospital, Car Crashes and the loss of a loved one. Those are the few major ones that I don’t think are clear from the synopsis, so stay safe and maybe stay away from this one if those are things that might affect you.

Thank you for reading! I am really happy to be back blogging again and I can’t wait to come back fully. Have you read Turtles All The Way Down? What is your favourite John Green book? 

Goodbye for now!

Over and Out