Turtles All The Way Down | Anxiety, OCD & Book Review

I’ve just finished another John Green book!

I didn’t read the synopsis of Turtles All the Way Down before going into it. I’ve never done this with a book before, but I quite enjoyed being blind. From the first few pages, I gathered that the main protagonist suffered from severe anxiety and OCD. Though I do not understand the conditions much, the book explained as much as I needed to know. This book brings awareness to mental health conditions without glamourising it. The story is told from the standpoint of Aza, an anxious teenager. Lots of people on social media these days talk about their ‘anxiety’. I understand that some people use the platform to express their problems, but sometimes it’s just a self-diagnosis. I think it is very offensive to claim you have a disorder when you don’t. It can often be stress: which is a daily experience for most people (sadly).

Sorry, I just went off on a tangent.

Back to the review: I think that this book is a realistic insight into the mental health issue, though I cannot say for sure. If any of you have anxiety, would you explain it similarly to this book?

The characters were all so well-written. I loved travelling down Aza’s spirals of thoughts. I’m sure that this relates to the cover, with having a downward spiral.

You may think the title is random, but your question will be answered: why is it called Turtles All The Way Down? It was one of my questions before I even had my hands on it.

The first paragraph begins with Aza eating a peanut butter and honey sandwich. The same ‘flavour’ sandwich is introduced in the middle and the end. Isn’t that brilliant? Green certainly knows his cyclical structures. Good job.

I very happily finished this book in one sitting. I hope to read again, sometime, and discover things that I missed the first time! What about you?

Have you read any of John Green? Do you think you will read TATWD?

 

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