Turtles all the Way Down Book Review
Green, John. TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN. New York: Penguin Books, 2019.
ISBN: 978-0525555377
"Spirals grow infinitely small the farther you follow them inward, but they also grow infinitely larger the farther you follow them out" (p. 288).
Aza Holmes has been living in a spiral of thoughts and OCD compulsiveness that is threatening her physical and psychological health. She has been keeping it quiet from her mother, a teacher at her high school because her mother's well-meaning concern for her daughter is a burden for Aza. She has been keeping it quiet from her best friend Daisy because, while her friend knows Aza has mental health issues, she does not truly understand the depth of the anxieties and physical compulsions. She has been keeping it quiet from her competent and helpful psychologist Dr. Singh, because she doesn't believe in herself enough to trust Dr. Singh's advice. While this is all happening, Aza is investigating the disappearance of Davis Pickett, Sr. the father of a childhood friend.
Turtles All the Way Down Book Trailer
John Green does an admirable job writing the inner struggles of a girl with mental illness. I am not familiar with the experiences of a person with OCD and severe anxieties, but it felt authentic as I read it. Aza tells Daisy at one point in the story that not all people with mental illnesses suffer the same way or exhibit behaviors in the same way. Green writes this particular girl and her illness in a real way. They feel true to her.
Interview with John Green
Turtles All the Way Down is not just about Aza's mental illness. It is about her as a whole person. She navigates her high school and is struggling with planning for her future. She and Daisy both struggle financially and are worried about paying for college. When tech mogul Davis Pickett, Sr. goes missing, the family offers a reward for finding him. Because Aza was once friends with the son, Davis Pickett, Jr., they think they can use the friendship to find information and claim the reward money. On this adventure, she falls in love and navigates that with her growing insecurities. She learns about her boundaries and limits. She also learns how to navigate the realization that she may not have been as good a friend as she could be to Daisy. Aza also realizes that she needs to be more honest about her condition to herself, her friends, and her mother, especially as the spiral of her illness tightens around her.
Program Connection
Students will answer the study questions in the following link.
Turtles All the Way Down study questions
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