Author: John Green
Genre: Young Adult Fiction

The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic: ★★★★/5

SUMMARY: 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.

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REVIEW: Before I get into my review for this book, I want to point out a few things. One, this is the first book I read after a very long reading slump. Two, I don’t commonly read many young adult fiction novels, as I usually stick with books with a fantasy/supernatural element to them. Three, I had no idea what the book was about before I began reading it. Okay, so now here we go!

I gave the book 4 out of 5 stars. I didn’t necessarily like the plot of the book, but I did really enjoy John Green’s writing style. While I’ve watched many of his movie adaptations of his books, this was the first book by John Greene that I have read. The writing was light, contradictory to the shadow of heaviness of its subject. I found myself breezing through the pages. One thing about the writing that really stood out to me was the dialogue. It’s something special when the character’s personality shines through their dialogue.

In the beginning Aza is somewhat likeable as a character, but as the story goes on she becomes more obsessive to the point it makes you uncomfortable to read her. It really fell into the theme of spiraling down and down and down. She struggles with being stuck in her own head, bombarded by her obsessive thoughts, that sometimes made her do some crazy things. Mental health isn’t something I’ve read about much so I’m not exactly familiar with it. While I don’t suffer from mental health issues, I sort of realted with Aza for the past couple of weeks. Something has been weighing on my mind for awhile; something I wanted to forget, but my mind would continue to grasp at it until it was the only thing swimming around in my thoughts. It got to the point that I would have inner dialogues with my own head trying to convince myself to believe one thing, but “someone” else would be trying to make me believe something else. I just wanted it to stop, but it felt out of my control; so I felt the frustration Aza was feeling at the times she would spiral down. Even if it’s not Aza who you relate with, I think there is someone in the book for every reader to relate to.

Overall, I think it was an insightful book. It was a bit intense at times, but the characters really made the story shine.

Get your copy of Turtles All the Way Down here!