Turtles All the Way Down is a book that is honest, emotional and powerful, and I loved every second of reading it.
The story is about two girls who search for a missing billionaire, but it's also not about that at all. It's about intrusive thoughts and mental illness and money and people's relationship to it. If you're looking for a thrilling mystery you won't find it here. Instead, you will find Aza, a girl whose obsessive-compulsive disorder causes her thoughts to spiral and tighten around her brain in a way that shapes her relationships and her life.
The depiction of OCD is brutal and brilliantly written (it's #OwnVoices too). As a reader, I felt like I had entered Aza's mind whenever I picked up this book. Green shows how people can be reluctant in seeking help through therapy and medication, but also highlights how important these things are in coping with mental illness. I especially loved that mental illness wasn't depicted as something that you simply overcome. It's something that you live with, and it doesn't always fit into a tidy narrative, which is reflected perfectly in the storytelling.
The characters are the true heart of this novel. These teenagers are thoughtful and quirky and maybe a little pretentious, but what teenager isn't? I really liked Aza and Daisy's friendship and how they balance each other out, and the discussion regarding their differing privileges was really interesting to read about. I also loved Aza and Davis' relationship too and how cautious they were with each other. It was incredibly sweet to see them consider what the other needed in each moment, and it's one of the loveliest romances I've read in a while.
Turtles All The Way Down is a gorgeous book. It has a voice that feels real and personal, and it is by far Green's best book yet.
★★★★★
YA Contemporary
Standalone
Aza has OCD
Depictions of OCD, substance abuse, death
No comments:
Post a Comment