Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Title: Turtles All the Way Down

Author: John Green

Cover: I had two concerns for this book -- its cover and that the publishers may be relying on the author to carry the book, therefore it wouldn't need an exciting cover.  The spiral on the cover makes sense once you've read the book, but going in, it seems boring and the color isn't all that great.  Relying solely on the author, if that is what they did, may not have been a great idea since it has been years since John Green wrote a book, and the young adult audience that he once appealed to has since grown up.  He still has adult fans, but this is, after all, meant for young adults.  Would this cover appeal to young adults?  We try to say not to judge a book by its cover, but as librarians, we can't deny that people do, especially young adults.  

Review: Aza, our main character, suffers from seems to be Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.  It is not diagnosed as that in the book, but she has the obsessions, compulsions, and intrusive thoughts.  It is a pretty severe case, or at least turns into one, which I think is handled well in this book.  It portrays it realistically, giving young adult readers a glimpse of an illness that is often portrayed stereotypically.  Aza does try to fight against some of her intrusive thoughts, but often loses the battle and gives in to the compulsions.  Aza reunites with a childhood friend, Davis, after Davis' father goes missing.  Aza's best friend Daisy thinks that Aza can potentially receive the cash reward for turning in information on Davis' dad, but Aza begins to build a friendship and relationship with him. I'm not sure that Davis is a realistic character, in how his money and missing dad are handled, but the relationship between he and Aza is charming.  Daisy, Aza's best friend is both likeable and unlikeable at times.

John Green's writing is easy to read, yet as in his last book, he covers hard topics (the OCD here) without being afraid to go deep into the dark aspects of how it affects the lives of his characters. Despite the flawed cover, this is another great story.