Turtles All the Way Down

I was so down for the whole tuatara subplot and that a whole bunch of teenagers now know what a tuatara is.

The friendship between Aza and Daisy is so realistic and nice to see in a YA book. I found Daisy to be such a consistent and detailed character that I felt like I actually knew her. Aza could have used some more distinguishing characteristics that weren't about her dad, car, or mental health.

The OCD representation is perfect. It's perfect. The ending was so good, and I'm very happy John Green didn't try to wrap up everything and make Aza seem like she was suddenly so much better. It really sends home the message that you aren't able to easily overcome intrusive thoughts with OCD.

The general plot involving the dad fell short for me. I think it's unlikely that the guy would've stayed in a tunnel while freezing to death, given he wasn't homeless and had a crap load of money. However, I completely disagree with people who give the book poor ratings because of this plot (and its lack of development). This the the side plot that gets our characters in certain situations, but the main plot is about Aza's journey with her mental health. That plot doesn't have a uber satisfyingly happy ending because that isn't a reality for people with OCD.