Turtles All the Way Down

I have to admit that very little about the synopsis was compelling to me. The Best and Most Fearless Friend descriptor for Daisy sounded really juvenile and I wasn't really feeling the hi jinks that I thought were about to ensue with the billionaire fugitive. Still, I pre-ordered this because I love John Green. I felt nervous for him. He has been so fantastically candid about his own struggles with mental illness (OCD) and on "failing to follow up The Fault In Our Stars". I knew he'd put a lot into writing this. I suppose the same is true for all authors, but when I get to peek behind the curtain I find it can make me feel compassion toward the author's process that I might not otherwise feel.I am happy to report that I thought this book was fantastic. John Green is so incredibly skilled at capturing that feeling of young adulthood. That feeling where there are infinite possibilities ahead of you yet the present is all that you care about. Some criticize his characters and say that they're unrealistically deep for teenagers, but sometimes I feel like I was at my most thoughtful as a young adult. There is still so much to learn and so much to do as a teen and I remember worrying about the Infinite possibilities.John Green's writing is like prose. I gobbled the book up in two days, but immediately after finishing I wanted to page back through and re-read my favorite parts. It is an introspective book. There wasn't a ton of action and I guessed correctly on some of the major plot points, but that didn't matter. The power of this book is in the way he describes Aza and what it is like for her to be caught in the ever tightening thought spirals. Page 228 was one of the most terrifying things I've read; it truly gave me a bit of anxiety reading it. I am very curious about how individuals who suffer with mental illness are going to find this book. I wonder if it'll be triggering, or if it will make people feel understood. I suppose it'll be different for everybody. I also wonder if Green's own OCD was made better or worse by writing.Overall, this book is a hit. It's not likely going to be made into a movie a la The Fault In Our Stars, but in many ways I liked it better than TFIOS. Aside from Aza, most of the characters were flat, but I think that was a choice. Aza isn't yet at a place where she can get outside of her own head and see other people for who they are, and I found this choice to make the story all the more realistic.

I have been a nerdfighter for quite some years now, and I enjoy Hank and John’s videos and podcasts. I was a bit weary about purchasing and reading the book because unfortunately John’s books tend to have the same outline of a story.The first John Green book I ever read was Looking For Alaska and I thought it was such an amazing book. Then I read The Fault in Our Stars…and it felt the same as Looking For Alaska. The I read Paper Towns and it still had the sameness as the other two and I couldn’t even make it past the first chapter of An Abundance of Katherines.Turtles is different. It breaks away from John’s usual two teens falling in love but nothing is really better routine. It is more than that and it is exceptional.This book breathed John Green, the goofy guy on the internet that is semi-open about his mental illness and makes videos with his brother.Turtles All The Way Down is not a love story. It’s not a mystery novel. It’s not a self discovery book. It’s a story of accepting ourselves because we are not alone even when we are trapped in our heads.It is an ode to those with mental illnesses who are screaming inside themselves trying to be heard. Telling them that it is okay to feel that way and that you are not crazy.Personally, I am privilege to be healthy with no physical or mental illness. I do suffer with anxiety sometimes, especially in situations that include too many people or too many things happening at once. Even with that I do not think I suffer from anxiety but from I am not a people person. So, I do not and will never truly understand what people with mental illness feel.What I do know is that it is different for everyone, because brains are funny that way. I think we all need to understand every individual handles illnesses differently.In Turtles All The Way Down we follow the story of Aza, a sixteen-year-old girl who suffers with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and it pretty much controls and defines who she is and how she lives her life. Her OCD is a lot like John’s ( I know this cause he has been open about it on Dear Hank and John Podcast ), where once there is a thought in her head it consumes her like a tightening downward spiral.Throughout the story we watch as Aza deals with regular teenage things such as school, teenage love, family and friendship but with her trying to “get better” from her OCD. ( Get better is in quotations because it is not really true, but I explain it further I might ruin a key element of the book).“The thing about a spiral is, if you follow it inward, it never actually ends. It just keeps tightening, infinitely.”John is a fantastic writer, he knows how to write and how to give emotion to a story. It is has been his forte ever since Looking For Alaska. There is no denying that he has become a stronger writer and his books will stay relevant in the literature world for many years to come.He knows how to tell a story even if the idea can be repetitive and the same.“One of the challenges with pain--physical or psychic--is that we can really only approach it through metaphor. It can't be represented the way table or a body can. In some ways, pain is the opposite of language.”What made this story realistic is that Aza was not magically fixed by a boy, or a friend or by herself. She continued on living with her OCD, aware of what it can do, but also aware that she will have her good days and her bad days. All she could do is keep going because it was not something that ever goes away and she understood that at the end.I do feel that the ending of the story felt quite abrupt, and frankly I was caught off guard at the sudden ending even though it felt right. It was honesty quite odd.“The problem with happy endings is that they're either not really happy, or not really endings, you know? In real life, some things get better and some things get worse. And then eventually you die.”Rating: 4.5/5

Ótimo, boa qualidade e chegou rápido e bem embalado

John Green sigue sorprendiéndome, este libro está tan bien escrito que puedes sentir la ansiedad de la protagonista como si lo estuvieras viviendo tú.Esta versión en pasta dura es hermosa, tiene las pastas en color negro con las letras en dorado y viene con su cubierta de papel del color de la portada original.

good delivery etc. loved this writing more than john green's other books.

J'ai beaucoup aime ce livreAu debut on prend le temps de s'habituer aux personnages et leur quotidien puis vers la suite de l'histoire on s'interesse aux reflexions faites par chacuns d'entres eux. De plus l'enquete est secondaire ce qui laisse plus d'espace pour les personnages et leurs relations tout faisant un fil conducteur.Le livre est juste magnifique et John Green ecrit toujours aussi bienJe recommande vraiment

Another hit by John Green. If you are a fan of John Green's writing style, you will surely enjoy this book. This book is particularly special as it tackles the topic of mental illness, in a way that is both realistic and thoughtful. The main character has OCD, and she is neither vilified nor made a hero because of it - which is something rather rare if you are familiar with how mental illness is typically treated in the media. John Green has been vocal about his own struggle with mental illness, and it is apparent that he has used his personal experience to write a book that portrays the topic in a respectful and realistic light. John Green's books are written for teenagers, but are enjoyable for adults, and as a 35 year old, I certainly enjoy them and this one is no different. DFTBA!