Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Russell Pickett, billionaire, has been missing, disappearing before his arrest for bribery. Now there is a $100,000 reward for him, and Daisy Ramirez is going to tap Aza Holmes to help find him and collect the reward.

Daisy and Aza are juniors in high school and best friends. Daisy learns that years ago Aza was a camp friend of Davis Pickett, Russell Pickett's son, and recruits Aza to find Russell Pickett and split the reward money. The problem is, Aza suffers from invasive thoughts...thoughts that spin out of control subjugating her life.

When they wade through the White River, running through the Russell estate trying to find evidence, they get caught by security. Aza tells them she is a friend of Davis, so security takes them to Davis to verify. Davis immediately remembers Aza. As they talk, Aza can see the pain Davis is in, as his mother has passed, his father's missing and he is left caring for his younger brother Noah. Davis welcomes this friend from the past, and trusts her. As their friendship grows into attraction, Aza's issues start spiraling out of control....especially when they kiss. "...billions of people kiss and don't die, just make sure his microbes aren't going to permanently colonize you come on please stop this he could have campylobacter he could be a nonsymptomatic E. coli carrier get that and you'll need antibiotics and then you'll get C. diff and boom dead in four days..."  Aza must deal with school, her friends, her mom, her relationship with Davis, all while trying to deal with these thoughts that paralyze her.

Solving the mystery, the budding relationship with Davis, Aza's relationship with Daisy, her visits with her therapist, and her thinking spiraling out of control are what drives the plot along, but it plods more than drives. While not my favorite John Green novel, I mostly enjoyed the way he represented Aza's  spinning thoughts, her sessions with her therapist, and learning to live life with what we've been dealt. Fans of Green will demand this and enjoy it. For high school, and sophisticated older middle schoolers with f-bombs sprinkled throughout.
Mark's Picks Rating: 3.5

Reading Level: 5.6 • Interest Level: 9-12 • AR Points: 10 • Lexile: 840L
Publisher: Penguin • 286 pages • Copyright: 2017 • ISBN: 978-0-525-55536-0 • Available in Perma-Bound Binding