I find Green’s stuff to be meh. Like it’s not the worst stuff I’ve read but not the best y’know. He’s definitely has his niche. Last one of his books I read was Paper Towns when the movie was coming out and I didn’t really like that one either. Then again I had only read it at the request of my friends. Main reason I was reading this one was mostly just to give it another try and unlike Paper Towns, I thought I’d actually like this one. Was somewhat surprised to find out I enjoyed reading Paper Towns more.

But with this one, the plot just carried on towards nowhere. It had a mystery aspect to it that was interesting but it was barely touched on in comparison to lackluster romance. One pro of it was the mental health aspect. The main character has OCD and the way her inner dialogue is written really showcases her struggles with it well. I do think that does have to do with John having OCD himself, not that his experience is the exactly the same as the character’s. Overall it was somewhat disappointing as the characters are likable even with their flaws. Granted, while I don’t think teenagers about to go to college are quoting academia as directly to the source as the ones in his book are, the dialogue is still realistic despite it. Like I can see people having the conversations they have. ( )

i know i am a 29-year-old. i know this is a young adult book. BUT!!!! John Green you're better than this. soooo much of the dialogue in this book had me thinking, "can you believe this is just a normal average sentence in this totally real book.” i really think this book contains some terrible overwrought pretentious writing. i know a lot of people love John Green for his writing. and i can say that i am not one of those people. if the plot of this story was better i could've gotten over his writing. but the two together!! just nope. nothing makes and then we'll all be dead somebody ( )

Mystery

John Green's best yet. Read it in one big gulp. Great characters, sympathetically drawn. Just loved it. ( )

3.5. This was a quick read and a really excellent and nuanced, if gut-wrenching portrayal of mental illness. Folks who experience anxiety or OCD, please look after yourself while reading this book; I am prone to anxious thought patterns and found this book a distressing read at times.

John Green is such a cerebral storyteller that the text of his novels spend a lot of time commenting on the themes of previous novels, and Turtles All the Way Down is definitely a Green novel in that regard, with a lot to say about previous books such as Paper Towns and about YA storytelling in general. I'd like to see him move on (as he did, sort of, with The Fault in our Stars), but the result here was still a solid book. The book also features trademark Green-ian characters, like Aza's self-assured, fan fiction-writing best friend Daisy (who I adored) and philosophical maybe-love interest Davis (who I found dull as nails).

As always, Green's strengths are his boundless curiosity about everything and his boosterism of teens and youth culture. As an advocate and mentor for this age group, he is perhaps without equal. And as a crossover writer with an adult fanbase, writing during a time when youth culture is particularly demonized, I applaud him for spreading the word that the kids these days are alright, even when they're struggling.

ETA: I will defend to the death Green's characters' right to have super philosophical conversations, because that was my lived high school experience, even without 2017 Wikipedia at our fingertips. ( )