“Turtles All the Way Down” is the newest novel by John Green, bestselling author of “The Fault in Our Stars”. Its story follows Aza, a girl who suffers from severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) through her struggles trying to be a good daughter, friend, and possibly even girlfriend. A side plot is a hundred-thousand-dollar reward for evidence leading to the arrest of Russel Pickett, a fugitive billionaire and the father of Aza’s childhood friend Davis.

The Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ and 1/2

Writing: ☆☆☆☆☆

Characters: ☆☆☆☆☆

Plot: ☆☆☆ and 1/2

I absolutely adored this. John Green is a major hit-or-miss for me, and I’m elated to say that this was a major hit! I adore his writing style, it’s very conversational and makes even dark themes like the ones in this book easier to digest. This is no doubt the darkest book Green has ever penned (Yes, even darker than “Looking for Alaska”, for anyone wondering) and while it was nothing I expected, it was in the best way possible.

The characters in this book might become some of my favorites Green has ever cooked up. Aza fights ferociously to not let her disorder control her life and her identity; I felt like the book at its heart is a giant study of Aza, and not simply because she is our protagonist. Her bubbly best friend Daisy is a good representation of someone with a loved one suffering from mental illness, on the outside trying to look in (also, she’s a Star Wars fan-fic superstar, so there’s a plus). And Davis and his little brother Noah’s struggle with their missing, and negligent, father ripped my heart to pieces.

Because Green himself has OCD, the disorder’s portrayal is so authentic, I cringed and was left heartbroken after every single one of Aza’s thought spirals. My own anxiety is very mild, but I do suffer from bouts of insomnia that follow a similar pattern to these spirals. If I’m not asleep but, say, 1 AM my brain goes haywire. 6 hours to sleep. You’re going to sleep too long and miss school. 5 hours to sleep. You’re going to fail that test if you don’t sleep enough. 4 hours to sleep. You’re going to drive exhausted and get yourself into an accident. 3 hours to sleep. And so on and so forth until I finally doze off. I’ll admit I haven’t read every book dealing with mental health under the sun, but I have never had a book touch me the way this one did. Not with its storyline or its characters, but in how I realized I’m not alone in my own nocturnal thought spirals.

The only issue I had with this book was its plot. If you go into this with the idea that it will be a high-stakes detective story, be prepared for disappointment. I felt mislead because the publisher’s synopsis of the book put a lot of emphasis on the hunt for Russell Pickett, and made Aza’s struggles seem like a side plot. But when you crack open the book, it’s the opposite. It could have been intentional for all I know, but while it did throw me off, it was a refreshing unexpectedness.

“Turtles All the Way Down” was a solid four and a half stars, but I did round up to five stars when called for, just because it was something I really needed to read at this point in my life. Anyone wanting insight into obsessive-compulsive disorder, which I feel is surrounded by lots of stigma and ridicule, pick this up.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to sit around for another three to five years for John Greens next book.