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February Book Review 2019: Turtles All the Way Down

My Reasons For Reading This Book

For starters both my mom and my roommate had read Turtles All the Way Down by John Green. I trust both of their opinions when it comes to book recommendations, which is one reason I chose to read this book. The only other John Green book the I have "read" is The Fault in Our Stars, which I actually listened to the audiobook. I really enjoyed that book and don't really know why I have never read any of his other books. Another reason I had for reading this book was that my roommate owned it, which meant I didn't have to buy it or check it out from the library. Since reading The Becoming of Noah Shaw, I was in the mood for another young adult book and Turtles All the Way Down was the perfect fix.

Content of the Book

Turtles All the Way Down is about Aza and the struggles she faces during her junior year of high school. After her childhood camp friend David's billionaire dad went missing, Aza and her best friend Daisy set out to investigate in hopes of getting the hundred-thousand-dollar reward. Aza experiences spiraling thoughts that test her ability to continue being a hard working student, good friend to Daisy and being a good daughter to her loving mother. This book examines the controversial subject of mental health and takes the reader inside the mind of a teen struggling to stay afloat.

What I Liked About the Book

In my option John Green presented the everyday struggles of mental health in a way that is easily understood by a reader who does not have personal experience with the struggles of mental health. I also liked that the book involved more than just the investigation and also incorporated the daily struggles of a high school student who is battling college decisions, strained friendships and mother-daughter relationships. I liked how quickly the book read, which not only lead me to finish it half way into February, but also made it so that I was intrigued and wanted to continue reading. I have always been a fan of John Green's writing style. The story flows nicely and is not choppy or hard to follow. I also liked the number of life lessons that not only the characters in the book took away, but as the reader I did as well. This is one of the only books that I have ever read that caused me to self-reflect and honestly I think that is something that is very hard for an author to do in the case of a book in the young adult genre and John Green did just that.

What I Disliked About the Book

I didn't necessarily dislike this part of the book, but I found it to be less realistic when it comes to the characters being in high school. Prior to reading the book my mom had said to me that she was put-off by the fact that John Green was having high school students quote Shakespeare. When it comes to how I feel about this aspect of the book, I will say that I think it was fitting for the Shakespeare quotes in the blog post, but in the causal conversations I did find it to be not fitting for high school students. With that being said that is the only thing I sort of disliked about the book.

Would I Recommend This Book?

I would recommend this book, but with that being said I would let those who have read other John Green books know that it is not as fantastic compared to something like The Fault in Our Stars. The only way I know how to summarize how I feel about this book is that its a worth while read, but it is not a book that I think is worthy of being a movie like The Fault in Our Stars. If someone asked me if they should read this book I would tell them, yes, yes, yes!!!

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