"Madness, in my admittedly limited experience, is accompanied by no superpowers; being mentally unwell doesn't make you loftily intelligent any more than having the flu does. So I know I should've been a brilliant detective or whatever, but in actuality I was one of the least observant people I'd ever met."
~p. 133
For a few years now, every time I passed this book at the bookstore or in the library, I would think: I really need to read that, but then I wouldn't pick it up and I would forget. I was finally spurred into action by reading his latest book, The Anthropocene Reviewed, which is nonfiction and which I loved. Finally, I have completed reading the works of John Green. I have to say that I really loved this book even though I still think of The Fault in Our Stars as my absolute favorite. Aza and her best friend Daisy are loveable, memorable, and perfectly flawed characters. I even enjoyed the nod to Sherlock with Aza's last name being Holmes and her and Daisy's attempt to solve the "case" of the missing local billionaire, whose son Aza happens to know and with whom she might be falling in love. But Aza has more on her plate than a "regular" hormonal teenager--she is also dealing with her own mental health issues, which do not seem to be improving.
I really did enjoy the stories within stories, the multitude of facts, and the wonderfully selected quotes that are, for me, the hallmark of John Green's prose. I would recommend Turtles to anyone interested in learning more about what living with a mental health issue is like, whether or not you are a regular reader of Y.A.--I think this book has a broader appeal than its target audience.
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