SUMMARY

John Green’s book Turtles All The Way Down uses high school romance, friendship, loss and
mystery as the backdrop to a story that takes a look into the brain of a 16-year-old girl suffering from
obsessive compulsive disorder.
This story is about mental illness and delves deep into the mind of the main character, Aza Holmes.
While we see many things happen in Aza’s life, the true focus of this book is on her inner struggle.
We literally spend most of this story inside Aza’s mind.

Aza has a best friend called Daisy and the book opens in a high school cafeteria where Aza is
experiencing a “thought spiral” as she calls it. Life is going on in the cafeteria as her friends try to
engage in conversation, but Aza is trapped in her own thoughts. Daisy is a complete contrast to Aza,
as we see Green subtly and effectively building the tension between them.

Aza is hopelessly lost in her own mind, and while her and Daisy share a sharp wit and a love for
Applebee’s, Daisy is full of excitement for life and relationships while Aza is not. Aza and Daisy
simultaneously complement and irritate each other.

The storyline starts with the mysterious disappearance of an Indianapolis CEO and billionaire,
Russell Pickett. A reward is proposed for any clues as to where he is. Daisy is exhilarated by the
idea of solving a mystery and getting a hefty reward. Aza knows Pickett’s son, Davis, and Daisy
insists that they visit him. We see an instant connection between Davis and Aza. They have both lost
parents and now Davis might be losing another one.

As the love story unfolds between Davis and Aza, we see that this is not a story about teen
romance. Aza is still completely controlled by her compulsions and the story takes an unexpected
turn. Green has spoken out about suffering with O.C.D himself and as the story progresses, readers
will understand that this book is about learning to live with mental illness and how Aza finds herself
in the midst of it. Green builds this theme in the first half of the book by introducing a few of Aza’s
compulsions and irrational fears. She is deathly afraid of contracting clostridium difficile, an infective
bacteria and is perpetually aware of her churning stomach as she pictures the bacteria spreading.

She compulsively cleans a small cut on her finger, which she has had since she was a child. She
even goes so far as to drink hand sanitizer.

Green paints a dark and chilling picture with the way he writes Aza’s inner dialogue. It is a constant
battle with herself. More often than not, she loses and is left feeling helpless and afraid. O.C.D, like
many mental illnesses, is often misunderstood. Green does not shy away from showing all of it. He
does not sugar coat the intense fear and loneliness that Aza feels.

Aza reminisces on her childhood before her illness had taken hold.

“Back then, all emotions felt like play,” she thinks, “like I was experimenting with feeling rather than
stuck with it. True terror isn’t being scared; it’s not having a choice in the matter.”

This book starts off slow and there is little outer conflict until the end. This sort of structure may not
be for everyone. It is extremely insightful and reflective but could be difficult to get into at first. Some
of the characters in this story lack depth and description. Readers don’t really have a choice of what
character to latch onto. We are stuck with Aza.

We get some glimpses into the characters of Daisy and Davis, but readers will have to wait until over
halfway through the book to really connect with anyone besides Aza.
Personally, I didn’t have a problem with this. Green’s intent is clearly to get readers to try to
understand and, possibly, relate to Aza. Aza is trying to solve her illness with medication and visits to
her psychiatrist but is feeling hopeless. “It’s so weird, to know you’re crazy and not be able to do
anything about it, you know?”

She portrays her ongoing frustration, “It’s not like you believe yourself to be normal. You know there
is a problem. But you can’t figure a way through to fixing it.”

Aza eventually realizes that she must accept herself and learn to see herself outside of her thought
and actions because it will never be easy. This is the theme that Green leaves us with. It’s not just a
struggle for those with mental illness, but a universal, human struggle.

Aza Holmes is a high school girl who has struggled for years with crippling
anxiety and overwhelming germ phobia. Her best friend, Daisy, is a fast-
talking, hard working Chuck E. Cheese employee who stands by her despite
Aza’s eccentricities. One day, news breaks that Russell Pickett, the billionaire
father of Aza’s childhood acquaintance, Davis Pickett, has gone missing.
Daisy persuades Aza to take a canoe down the river behind Aza’s house to
Davis’ mansion to reconnect with Davis and try to solve the mystery of
Russell’s disappearance which could lead to a large reward for the girls. Over
the next few months, Aza and Davis begin dating, the girls fall into the large
payday they had hoped for, relationships are tested, and Aza’s compulsions
and worries cause her to unravel.

Indianapolis
The novel is set in Indianapolis, Indiana's capital city located roughly in the center of the
state. The principal characters live in the suburbs just outside of the city. It is a typical
Midwestern suburban area, featuring a plethora of chain restaurants. The girls socialize at
Applebee's, and Daisy works at Chuck E. Cheese. The White River separates Aza's middle
class neighborhood from Davis Pickett's much more affluent one. Daisy explains that
Indianapolis was founded on the White River because the waterway was believed to be
useful as a shipping route. That was before the founders discovered that it was much too
shallow for this purpose. The girls attend the fictional public White River High School,
whereas Davis attends private school.

White River High School

Aza and Daisy attend White River High School, and Aza's mother teaches there. White
River's cafeteria is the site of Aza's terrible thought...
The main character in John Green's Turtles All the Way Down is the narrator of the story, Aza
Holmes. She suffers from several anxiety disorders, including hypochondria and Obsessive
Compulsive Disorder (OCD). She feels overwhelmed by her anxiety for much of the novel and
feels that she will never overcome it. In spite of this, though, she goes on an adventure with her
best friend, Daisy, to find a missing billionaire.

Daisy is Aza's best friend and the only one who can really get her to consider stepping outside of
her comfort zone. She seems to be supportive of Aza and sympathetic about her issues. Daisy is
a talented writer and writes Star Wars fan fiction stories. It is later revealed that she uses these
stories as a way to vent her frustrations about Aza and her anxiety.

Davis Pickett is Aza's love interest and the son of the missing billionaire. He and Aza met at a
summer camp for children who had lost one of their parents, and they reconnect when he finds
Aza and Daisy on his property, looking for clues about his father. He has a complicated
relationship with said father: he both loves him and hates him for not taking care of his family,
including Davis' brother Noah, the way he should.

Mychal is Aza and Daisy's friend, and eventually becomes Daisy's boyfriend. He, like her, is
very artistic, although their relationship causes some tension between Aza and Daisy.

Russell Pickett is Davis and Noah's father. He goes on the run when the police begin to
investigate him for fraud. A $100,00 reward is offered for any information that leads to his
arrest.

In addition to the theme of mental illness, explored in the previous answer, Turtles All the Way
Down also deals with the theme of friendship. Aza and Daisy are best friends, and Aza very
much takes Daisy for granted. Daisy tolerates Aza's moodiness and "thought spirals," and she is
as supportive a friend as anyone with a mental illness could wish for. Deep inside, however,
Daisy is frustrated with her friend being so self-centered. For example, Aza has never bothered
to read Daisy's Star Wars fan fiction, which the latter has been writing for years.

The girls' relationship is strained when they get a windfall of $100,000, which Davis gives them
so that he would not suspect they are just hanging out with him because of the money. Aza
criticizes Daisy for spending her money too fast, immediately buying a laptop and later, a car.
Daisy does not appreciate the criticism, and points out that Aza, who has never experienced a
lack of any much-needed item, cannot possibly judge her objectively.

Crisis develops when Aza finally reads Daisy's Star Wars writing, and recognizes herself in one
of the characters, depicted as a tag-along who always ruins everything—in short, a nuisance. She
feels betrayed and hurt. This leads to a confrontation while Aza is driving, which results in a
serious accident. However, the fight clears the air, and their friendship survives despite the
obstacles. Aza learns that each relationship has to be a two-way street, and both girls learn to
appreciate each other and themselves for who they are.