Turtles All the Way Down

Starred review from October 16, 2017
Like many of Green's characters, Aza Holmes is whip smart, articulate, and tortured by worry. When she was eight, her father succumbed to a heart attack while mowing the lawn. Now 16, Aza takes meds (irregularly) to treat anxiety, which is manifesting in increasingly self-destructive ways. Her problems amplify when she reconnects with Davis, a boy she met years earlier at "Sad Camp," where both had gone to grieve their recently deceased parents. Now Davis's billionaire father is missing, running from a warrant for his arrest. Aza's best friend Daisy, in a classic sidekick role, pressures Aza to contact Davis, hoping they'll learn something about the disappearance—and maybe get a cut of the $100,000 reward. The reunion leads to romance, until Aza's anxiety won't allow it. Green's first novel since The Fault in Our Stars is another heartbreaker, full of intelligent questions. It's also a very writerly book, as Aza frames a lot of the questions she asks herself in literary terms. Am I a fiction? Who is in charge of my story? Why do we describe pain with the language of metaphor? Because of this, it's tempting to conflate Aza the character with her author, who has been open about his own mental illness. But readers need not know where the line is between the two to feel for someone trapped in an irrational, fear-driven spiral. In an age where troubling events happen almost weekly, this deeply empathetic novel about learning to live with demons and love one's imperfect self is timely and important. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House.

Popular author John Green's story is inspired by his own suffering with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Narrator Kate Rudd dramatizes the quick intelligence and high anxiety of high school junior Aza Holmes, who has an incapacitating fear of being infected with a deadly bacteria. Rudd offers poignant pictures of Aza's struggles through vivid portrayals of other characters. She colors Aza's mother with restrained worry and fierce protectiveness and gives a steady, calming voice to wealthy Davis, Aza's old friend and potential new boyfriend. She paints Aza's oldest friend, Daisy, with animated concern and, sometimes, frustration. Rudd expresses most strongly Aza's sarcastic inner voice, which is so developed that it becomes a character. The convincing portrayals makes it easy to see how Aza is hindered in loving, thinking, and living without fear. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

Starred review from March 5, 2018
Voice actor Rudd sensitively portrays the protagonist of Green’s latest novel, Aza Holmes, a 16-year-old with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Aza’s mind is constantly crowded with anxiety and intrusive thoughts about germs and infection, which makes navigating the trials of high school no easy task. Luckily she has a best friend, Daisy, who helps keep her mind at ease. When the girls receive word that billionaire Russell Pickett left town to avoid arrest on criminal charges, and that there’s a $100,000 reward for information about his whereabouts, Daisy convinces Aza that finding Pickett is just the distraction she needs. Along the way, Aza strikes up a friendship with Pickett’s son, Davis, whom she had previously known at camp, and they form a bond despite their respective problems. Rudd speeds up the pace to show the overwhelming flood of thoughts that fill Aza’s mind. She also captures the panic Aza feels and her frustrations with her condition as she becomes attracted to Davis. Rudd tops off the performance with a slew of memorable voices for the other characters—Aza’s concerned mother, her coolly professional psychiatrist, and especially her chatterbox friend Daisy. Rudd’s excellent, empathetic narration adds to the appeal of this psychologically complex, character-driven novel. Ages 14–up. A Dutton hardcover.