Book Review — Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
When I read The Fault in Our Stars I cried minimally, I sniffled most times and also had a few good laughs.Turtles All the Way Down had me numb. While my brain recognised that this was the same author, my mind was in conflict. How could I not feel anything — not even a smile while reading?
Perhaps, that is what makes John Green’s Turtles All the Way Down an interesting read. Aza Holmes and her friend Daisy Ramirez want the $100,000 reward for finding any information about the absconding billionaire Russell Picket. Russell’s eldest, Davis, is Aza’s friend from years ago. And so Aza and Daisy set off to find the missing billionaire.
That is the way the book begins, and at times one thinks that maybe this is a solving the mystery, seeking treasure kind of book. But, John Green with his talented writing disabuses the reader of this early on. All of the main characters in the book are teenagers; it is a YA after all! Though at times one wonders if at all we possessed as much courage at their age while still being vulnerable.
When you read a John Green book, you must be prepared for everything that it throws at you. In Turtles All the Way Down we deal with microbiomes and Tuatara (I didn’t even know a thing like that existed!), Star Trek and Stargazing. But the most beautiful texts were the ones which the characters look within themselves. Their thoughts and their insights were beautifully, yet laconically written. Thought spirals and triggers — ones you relate to and ones you don’t understand — you relish them all with equal delight as a reader. But mostly one understands the complexity that is the young mind, with its immeasurable insecurities and strange convictions. John Green does his best to reassure us of our own inconsequence in the universe while somehow making us stronger with his words.
If the title of the book makes no sense to you with the plot or the blurb, read the book and it will tie everything in. Turtles All the Way Down is the sort of book that grows on you. You enjoy it and keep it safely tucked away in a corner of your mind.
I definitely recommend.
You can pick up a copy of Turtles All the Way Down here — Amazon, Flipkart.
Originally published at frostatmidnite.wordpress.com on January 2, 2018.
