Turtles All the Way Down

Green, J. (2017). Turtles all the way down. New York, NY: Dutton Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

Summary:


In addition to dealing with her crippling anxiety, Aza has been roped into a mystery. Billionaire Russell Pickett has disappeared after charges of fraud and bribery led to a search warrant of his home with Pickett nowhere to be found. His two sons, however, still live across the way from Aza. The case stirs up an old friendship, a new relationship, and a sudden influx of cash for Aza. But all of the good cannot take away the spiral of her own thoughts.

Reaction:

The beginning of this book sounds like John Green. Since Green wrote this book in an attempt to work through his own problems with mental illness/anxiety, it makes sense the reader would hear his voice. But this made it difficult to become fully immersed in Aza’s story from the beginning.  At some point, Aza manages to break through. Her debilitating anxiety and racing thoughts cause her to stay in her head rather than partake in life around her.  

Unrealistically, Davis Pickett gives Aza money his father stashed away. Aza never asked for the money. She just became interested in the case as something to do with her best friend. But in order to sort of buy her off, he just gives her a duffel bag full of cash? That’s hard to accept. 

Aza and Davis reconnect after years apart. They are understanding of one another and become a support system as Aza’s neurosis gets worse and Davis deals with his father’s disappearance. The character of Daisy is relatable to the reader. Her obsession with Star Wars and her fan fiction was probably one of the highlights of this book. 

John Green is known for leaving philosophy Easter eggs in his books. In The Fault in Our Stars, Green talks about “cantor sets”. Some infinities are larger than others. Turtles All the Way Down is no exception as it is a metaphor for “the problem of infinite regress”. EX: God created everything so who made God? It is God’s all the way down.

Connections: 

Activities: 

Define anxiety. Ask students if this is something they have experienced in their lives. Have them write down an example. They don’t have to share unless they wish to. 

Aza is terrified of the following: Norovirus, Clostridium difficile - C. diff, Human Microbiota, Diplostomum pseudospathaceum, E. coli, and Campylobacter. Have students complete a jigsaw activity where they read an article about each and explain to their classmates. 

Study a geographical map of Central Indiana. Trace the White River. 

If you live near a body of water, an experiment could be made to test the water for different types of wildlife. 

Aza’s friend, Daisy, explains the history of Indianapolis. Research the history and see how much information Daisy got correct. What else did you learn about Indianapolis? 

Tuatara - see if your city’s zoo has one of these animals. The zoo could possibly have a live feed of the animal, and a zoologist could explain the animal to the class. 

Create a visual representation of Aza’s thoughts. They often spiral out of control. 

Create a list of Texting Commandments 

Have students look each other up on social media. See what they can learn about each other based on what they post. If someone were looking into them like Aza and Daisy are looking into Davis and his father, would they learn something they wouldn’t want you to learn? 

Have a lesson about online presence. 

Have students write their own witness account of an event that happened in class. Students should compare with their classmates to see the differences and similarities. How reliable are witness statements? 

Aza holds on to a lot of things of her father’s; his car, his cell phone and charger. What is something you would hold onto that is your parents and why?

What would you do if you came into $50,000? Would you spend it like Daisy? Or would you hold onto it like Aza? Why? 

What are the dangers of drinking hand sanitizer? What could happen from doing this? 

Have students write a fanfiction of their own based on their favorite movie, TV show, or book. One of the characters needs to be modeled after someone in their life. 

How does the title Turtles All the Way Down relate to Aza? 

 

Read excerpts relating to comedian Tig Notaro’s experience with C. diff. 

Notaro, T. (2016). I'm just a person. New York, NY: Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers.

Videos: 

[vlogbrothers]. (2017, September 5). John reads the first chapter of turtles all the way down [Video File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/D3QznppVuGU 

[vlogbrothers]. (2017, July 25). What OCD is like (for me) [Video File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/jNEUz9v5RYo