Buncombe Brief Book Review: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

I enjoy John Green’s books, but this one was a far cry from his previous works.  I really enjoyed The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska, and I even enjoyed the novel, Paper Towns, despite the story being a little far-fetched.  However, Turtles All the Way Down was a miss for me.  I know there are a lot of people who enjoyed the book and it was an okay read, but this story wasn’t for me.  I do think Green understood his characters well but the story was just not for me.

I feel like the pacing was a bit off.  The main character Aza seems to jump into the story with her friend Daisy, quickly.  They canoe down a river and basically trespass onto the land of Aza’s old friend, Davis, whose father is missing.  

It’s such an odd story where these kids are looking for a missing man, the wealthy Davis gives Aza $100,000, they seem to quickly rekindle a relationship, and they explore some questionable areas in this manhunt.

I understand this is fiction, don’t get me wrong.  I mean, I really enjoy It by Stephen King and that’s a bunch of young kids running around fighting an evil clown, but I think some of Green’s previous works were a little more convincing and the stories, timing and pace made more sense.  Frankly, I’m not really sure what was going on in Turtles, since it was about some kids looking for the missing, possibly dead, dad of a friend they didn’t seem to be very close with.  

While, again, the book is okay, it’s not one of Green’s best.  There are so many great books in the Young Adult world so Turtles All the Way Down isn’t a must read but if you are a big John Green fan, you’ve likely already read it.  However, for those who haven’t, try another book by Green or look elsewhere for your YA literary fix.