4. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

read on my iPhone
2017 Dutton Books for Young Readers
290 pgs.
YA/CRF
Finished 1/8/18
Goodreads rating: 4.14 - 66,158 ratings
My rating: 5
Setting: contemporary Indianapolis, IN

First line/s:  "I might be fictional, my weekdays were spent at a publicly funded institution on the north side of Indianapolis called White River High School, where I was required to eat lunch at a particular time -- between 12:37 p.m. and 1:14 p.m. -- by forces so much larger than myself that I couldn't even begin to identify them."

My comments:  What makes a book "good?"  What is it in a story that leaves you feeling that you just read something really special?  It doesn't happen very often, but when it does, you know it, you feel it.You overlook some of the little things that don't work  for you.   Turtles All the Way Down taught me many lessons.  As hard as I try to empathize with people with mental illnesses, I have to admit that those are some of the many, many times in my life that I'm uncomfortable.  It's books like this one that give you unprecedented insight into what goes on in a mind that's slightly awry.  And Aza's mind is more than a little slightly awry.  This was an incredibly powerful book for me.  Great storytelling.  Great character building.  Great relationships, particularly Aza and Daisy's relationship, best friends forever (as dumb as that may sound) and Aza and her mom's relationship, which makes me look back upon my relationship with my mom, and with my kids.  And I'm so impressed that John Green can write the character of a female protagonist  with such assurance. fI was impressed, inspired, and completely saddened by this work of art.

Goodreads synopsis: #1 bestselling author John Green returns with his first new novel since The Fault in Our Stars!
          Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett’s son, Davis.
          Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts. 
          In his long-awaited return, John Green, the acclaimed, award-winning author of Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars, shares Aza’s story with shattering, unflinching clarity in this brilliant novel of love, resilience, and the power of lifelong friendship.