Sixteen-year-old Aza Holmes wasn’t expecting to be investigating the disappearance of billionaire Russell Pickett, but a hundred thousand dollar reward is looming and her best friend Daisy is ready to solve the mystery. Aza and Daisy become acquainted with Russell’s son Davis, and together, they collect evidence and gather information to figure out what truly happened to Russell Pickett.

But within this external conflict lies Aza’s true endeavor as she struggles as a student, friend, and daughter. Aza struggles with OCD and anxiety, causing her to get lost in what she calls her thought spiral. She is consumed by paranoia of death by bacterial infection and is unable to live in the present and form real relationships with her loved ones.

Throughout the story, Aza struggles in finding herself and getting better, even when it seems impossible. As her world spins out of control, Aza loses her grip and regains it, learning how to cope with the uncontrollable storms of mental illness.

Turtles All the Way Down is an absolutely heart wrenching, raw, real, and painful story that accurately portrays mental illness. As Aza strives to separate from her intrusive thoughts, readers find that healing from mental illness isn’t a linear journey where one can simply choose to get better. The novel is realistic in its portrayal of life, love, friendship, illness, and healing. Overall, I loved Turtles All the Way Down, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes to read thought-provoking realistic fiction stories that allow them to look at life with a different lens.

-Lam T.

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.