Anxiety disorders and crippling phobias have been medical issues that have been slowly tightening their grip around the necks of millions of Americans in the past decade or two, and in particular, it seems people in my age group, millennials, are particularly affected. According to the ADAA, the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, more than 40 million people over the age of 18 in America are affected by anxiety disorders, yet less than 40% seek help. While I will never speak for these afflicted people myself, as I have personally not been diagnosed with anxiety, I will let a hopefully-familiar individual named John Green do it for me.
In his new book that just came out not even a month ago, Green paints an accurate if not frightening picture of an individual’s anxiety and how it shapes her as an individual in his story, "Turtles All the Way Down." This is a story about a young girl named Aza Holmes, who, along with her friend Daisy, learn about the disappearance of their resident billionaire, Russel Picket, who was a local construction mogul. There is a $100,000 reward on him if he is found, and they decide to see if they can play detective. Luckily, Aza and Pickett’s son, Davis, are childhood friends. The story revolves around two conflicts, one internal and one external. Aza must battle her own dark thoughts and anxieties that are trying to convince her that she will contract deadly diseases, all the while she must try to learn more about Davis and his brother, not only for the reward, but also because she cares about Davis, or at least she thinks she does.
I can say for certain that I had never heard the phrase “turtles all the way down” before. It’s a phrase that refers to the World Turtle idea that the Earth sits on the back of a turtle in the universe, and that turtle sits on another, and another, and so on forever. It references infinite regression in the idea of the “unmoved mover” paradox. If you like philosophy, check it out here.
When I first heard about this book, I was quite ecstatic, because YA fiction is a genre that is slowly building power, and one of its biggest contributors is Green himself, with books like "Looking for Alaska" and "The Fault in Our Stars," which shook the hearts of millions. While I personally didn’t really like the latter, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this new book was more like the former in its style. Nonetheless, Green also breaks his standard formula of weird/quirky/lonely boy meets spunky/fantastical/almost mystifying girl. Instead, both Aza and Davis are very smart, capable kids, but are very broken and beaten down by their situations. Aza’s anxiety and her lingering grief about her father affect her, while Davis’ father’s disappearance, his desire for a mother, and having to take care of his little brother weigh on him. I found both of their plights to be relatable despite not having lost a parent because they also are dealing with typical teenage hormones and chemical imbalances.
I love how Green is also from the Midwest, so he writes about characters from the Midwest. I’m biased, I know, but it’s nice to see a setting that isn’t New York, LA, Miami, etc. He bases most of the story in real-world terms, so it’s easy to picture what’s going on and how it’s being done.
A couple things I didn’t like about this book were how slow it was in the beginning. Maybe it was just me, but "Looking for Alaska" and "Paper Towns "had some kind of clincher opening, or at least something interesting enough to keep me going. It isn’t until about a third of the way in that I really took an interest. Despite that, "An Abundance of Katherines" is like this as well but rewards a patient reader with a more engaging story down the road. My second complaint is that while Aza’s anxiety is a part of her character, it speaks in its own character, which is represented by italics. Green wrote it in a way that the italics interject themselves in the middle of the sentence and can confuse readers sometimes. It’s minor, but it still happens sometimes.
In conclusion, "Turtles All the Way Down" is an excellent novel by Green, and really showcases his skill in the YA fiction genre. If you are interested in YA fiction or have enjoyed any others of Green’s works, you should not hesitate to pick this up at your local bookstore or library.
