Turtles All the Way Down
2017
- anxiety disorders
- young adult fiction
- teenage girls
- juvenile fiction
- fiction
- obsessive-compulsive disorder
- missing persons
- friendship
- nyt:young-adult-hardcover=2017-10-29
- children's fiction
The story
**SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD AZA NEVER INTENDED** to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there's a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at sake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett's son, Davis. Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts. In his long-awaited return, John Green, the acclaimed, award-winning author of *Looking for Alaska* and *The Fault in Our Stars*, shares Aza's story with shattering, unflinching clarity in this brilliant novel of love, resilience, and the power of lifelong friendship. This description comes from the publisher.
What it’s like
Close, interior prose that moves like a restless mind: short, clipped sentences that fold back on themselves, with the texture of a teenager's running commentary sliding between plainspoken chatter and sudden spirals of intrusive worry. The sensory world is small and specific: a sticky Texas summer, the hum of a suburban bedroom at night, the rattle of a bike chain, the pale glow of a phone screen in the dark. Its vibe is wry and tender, anxious but warm, with flashes of humor from a best friend who refuses to let anything stay heavy for long. Pacing is conversational and digressive, with long stretches of talk and wandering thought punctuated by quieter, sharper moments of fear. Intensity is low: no violence or gore, some mild profanity, and sexual content that is brief and non-graphic; the anxiety and compulsive thinking are rendered closely and can feel uncomfortable, but never sensational. Emotional register is bittersweet and affectionate, following a young woman learning to live alongside her illness while holding onto friendship and family. Good for readers who want an honest, funny, emotionally open young adult novel on a slow weekend, or a comfort read that takes mental health seriously without tipping into bleakness.
More books like Turtles All the Way Down
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved Turtles All the Way Downand we’ll explain which ones fit you.
