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Welcome to the final discussion of Turtles All the Way Down.

What did you think about the ending? Did the story finish up like you thought it would? 

It was really hard to read about Aza’s lowest points. I was glad that she and Daisy were able to be honest with each other, but I was heartbroken by the car crash. It was so sad when Aza’s dad’s phone was shattered. I know that was a really important thing to Aza. I was hoping that Aza was going to get a lot of help after the crash, not thinking how spending time in the hospital would affect her so deeply. What did you think when she drank more hand sanitizer? Do you think her mom would have realized how bad things are if she had not seen that? It was really sad that she felt the need to do that, but I think it actually helped her in the end. 

I’m glad that Daisy and Aza reconciled after the car crash. I think Daisy was finally able to see how hard things were for Aza. And, Aza was able to understand more about Daisy and her problems. 

Did you expect that Davis and Aza would not be able to be a couple? I understood that Aza needed space to work on herself and her mental health. But, I also understood that Davis wanted more from her and wanted to have a more traditional relationship. What do you think will happen to them after the book is finished? Do you think they would ever be able to get back together? Do you think Aza will eventually want to be in a relationship after she becomes more stable? I think the book hints that they will see each other again. 

What did you think of the scene in Pogue’s Run tunnel? Did you expect that they would be able to find Pickett after all? What did you think of the fact that Aza told Davis, but not the police, about her discovery? Were you surprised that Davis and Noah decided to tell the police, even though that meant they would lose their house? I understood that they wanted to have closure. I’m glad that Noah will get the help he needs at his new school. I hope he is able to heal. 

The book ends with Aza still being committed to healing and getting better. I liked that the book showed that she was working at getting better and wasn’t just suddenly cured. I thought that it was a more realistic portrayal of mental health. I’m glad she found medicine that began to help her feel better. 

What were your favorite parts of the book? Would you have changed anything about it? Which character did you feel like you enjoyed reading about the most? Would you recommend the book to someone else? If you liked this book and would like to read and watch similar titles, check out this list I created. Make sure to let me know if you check out anything on the list!

Before you go, check out John Green’s thoughts on writing. Do you agree with his ideas about books and the role of a writer? 

Thanks so much for following along this month! I hope you’ll leave a comment to let me know what you thought of the ending. Next month, we’re reading Long Bright River. I hope you’ll join us for that discussion as well!

Welcome to Week 3 of the Online Book Club discussion of Turtles All the Way Down.

At the beginning of this section, Davis offers Aza $100,000 not to share the photo she and Daisy took from the security camera. Were you surprised that it was legitimate? Can you even imagine what it would be like to just find huge stacks of money everywhere in your house? Do you think Davis will be able to keep any of the other money he finds in the house, or does that money go towards the tuatara? Daisy sure seemed really excited to be able to have the money. She bought a car and a laptop almost immediately. Do you think she will be able to save any money towards college? Or will she spend it all quickly? 

I had a hard time with Daisy in this section. I thought she was incredibly insensitive towards Aza several times throughout this section, but I think part of it stems from the fact that so much of Aza’s illness takes place in her head, so she is able hid it from others. I know Daisy has no idea how hard it is for Aza to make it through every minute of every day, so she can’t understand how Aza is trying hard to be a good friend, even if it doesn’t look like it. It was really sad when Aza realized that Daisy had written a character into her fan fiction that was modeled after Aza. That was a really cruel thing to do. 

Were you surprised that Aza reacted so strongly and her thoughts went so wild when she and Davis kissed? That made me really sad for her. I couldn’t believe how quickly her mind moved from being excited about being near Davis to worrying about his germs permanently affecting her microbiome. One thing that was really concerning was that Aza started to put hand sanitizer in her mouth to help alleviate her fears about his germs. It’s really dangerous to drink hand sanitizer. I really worry about what she might be doing to her body by picking up this new coping mechanism. 

What did you think of Davis’s blog? Were you surprised that he was comfortable with Aza reading it? It was really personal. I think I would have had a hard time putting those kind of emotions out where everyone could see them. The blog did seem to help bring them together. Do you think you see a future for Aza and Davis? Do you think she’ll end up being honest to him about all that she’s dealing with in her mind? Will they be able to work through that together? 

Do you think Aza and Daisy will have a big fight in the last section? Surely Aza will have to share how much Daisy’s stories hurt her. They seem to be growing apart, so I’m not sure how their friendship will stand at the end of the book. 

How do you think the book will end? Aza can’t keep going like she’s going. Do you think she is going to get help? Do you think the book will end in a positive way? 

Before you go, check out the video below to watch John Green talk about OCD and Indianapolis. What is your favorite part of the video? 

Thanks for following along this week! I hope you’re able to finish the book by next week, and I hope you’ll leave a comment to let me know what you’re thinking about the book so far! 

Welcome to Week 2 of the Online Book Club discussion of Turtles All the Way Down by John Green. 

Did you enjoy reading the first section? Do you like the characters so far? 

Right from the very beginning, we can see that Aza has some really destructive thought patterns. It was really hard to read her thought spirals, but they seemed incredibly realistic. It was so easy to see how the thoughts piled on top of each other until she was unable to see any reason. She definitely is a different type of OCD character than any I have seen before, and that was an intentional choice by John Green. Check out this article to see why John Green thought it was so important to show OCD in a different light than it is often portrayed. 

I was really nervous when Daisy wanted to use Aza’s prior relationship to Davis as an “in” for the reward money. Davis is a really fragile character, so I really hope that Aza doesn’t hurt him. So many people seem to use him for his money, and I really hope that Aza doesn’t turn out to be one of those people. It seems that she really likes him. She searches his blog and continues to think about him. I hope she will change her mind about trying to get the reward money. 

Had you ever heard of a tuatara before? I had not. They seem like a really crazy animal! Check out the video below to see what tuataras look like in real life! It is absolutely wild to me that Pickett is planning on leaving his entire estate to the care and study of the tuatara. I can’t imagine how that would make Davis feel. 

Were you surprised how much information Daisy and Aza were able to get about the Pickett case. I couldn’t believe when Daisy emailed that journalist and asked for the police report. She definitely scammed him. It’s crazy how easy it is to trick people into doing things they wouldn’t normally do when you’re just interacting online. 

It was really hard to read about Aza’s doctor’s appointments. I just wanted her to open up more and have more trust in the doctor. Even after the doctor helped Aza reason about not having C. diff, Aza was able to think that she knew more than the doctor did. It was hard reading about how obsessive and all-encompassing her thoughts were. What did you think about Aza’s reasoning for not taking her meds? Do you think the medicine would be able to help her if she was able to take it? 

This section ends on kind of a bleak tone. Aza believes that she will not be able to overcome her thoughts. Do you think she will be able to get better? What do you think is going to happen between her and Davis in the next section? Do you really think she will be able to help him find his dad? 

Thanks for following along this week! I hope to hear from you in the comments, and I hope you’ll read the next 8 chapters for next week! 

Welcome to Week 1 of the Online Book Club discussion of Turtles All the Way Down by John Green. 

The Online Book Club, if you’ve never joined us before, is a book discussion group that takes place entirely online. Each week, I write a new blog post that talks about different aspects of the book, and you can interact directly with me and other readers by leaving your comments. Check back each week and see what new topics we’re talking about.

Turtles All the Way Down tells the story of Aza, a 16 year old girl who is just trying to have a normal high school experience, but she struggles with compulsive thoughts on a daily basis. When a billionaire goes missing in her town, Aza and her best friend attempt to find him and collect the prize money. However, as the pair gets closer and closer to the mystery and the billionaire’s teenaged son, Davis, Aza’s compulsive thoughts continue to get worse in an ever-tightening spiral. 

If you want to follow along with us, but you aren’t interested in reading the book, you can always watch the show on HBO Max. Don’t have a subscription to HBO Max? No problem! You can request one of the Roku Express 4K+ Streaming Devices at the library. Check out the trailer above if you want to get a feel for the how the story plays out on screen. Feel free to still leave comments on the blog posts, even if you’re only watching the series and not reading the book. 

We’ll read the first 8 chapters for next week, so make sure to read those before checking the next blog post!

Welcome to Week 4 of the Online Book Club discussion of The Tattooist of Auschwitz. 

At the beginning of this section, the guards discover the stash under Lale’s bed, and he is beaten badly in prison. What were the chances that the man he helped earlier in the book would be the one who had to do the beating? That was really lucky. If Jakub hadn’t been the one to beat Lale, I’m sure he would have died. I was really surprised when Lale got his job and room back. Baretski jokes that Lale is like a cat, and he really seems like he was. He survived so many different things during his time in the camps. He did seem to get a lot of special treatment and special opportunities. Lale decides to continue trading and getting extra supplies after being released. Were you surprised that he went back to that? Wouldn’t you think he would be afraid of being killed, especially since he already had one lucky escape? 

I can’t imagine how scary it was to be there when the camps were emptying out. I think it would be hard not to be hopeful that the end was coming, but also, the SS were acting erratically, so I’m sure it was so scary to think what final punishment they could come up with. Gita and her crew end up on one of the death marches, and I really don’t know how anyone was able to survive those. If Gita and the four other friends hadn’t run away, they would not have survived. It was amazing that Gita was able to get to safety and find her brothers. I just can’t believe all that she survived. Lale also had a really lucky escape. I couldn’t believe when he was able to convince that guard that he wasn’t Jewish. And then, he was able to trick the Russians and leave with some jewels. Lale was so smart and had such a will to live. He did so many things to survive. I just can’t imagine how he had to keep thinking and scheming every second of every day. 

What did you think about the ending? I couldn’t believe how Gita and Lale were able to be reunited after the end of the war. There was so much chaos after the war ended–I can’t believe anyone was able to find anyone. It’s incredible that they were able to be together and build a beautiful life together. 

How do you feel about the book and its fictionalized account of the Holocaust? Do you feel like since it’s based on a true person, it should be treated like a historical document? How much creative license do you think an author of a book like this should have? There has been a lot of controversy about Heather Morris’s writing and some things in the book that appear to be inaccurate. If you’d like to read more about the controversy, check out this article. Let me know what you think about the responsibility of an author of this type of book in the comments. 

Did you enjoy reading this book? If you liked this book and would enjoy reading and watching similar titles, check out this list I created. Make sure to let me know if you check out anything on the list. 

Check out the video below to learn more about the way the series adaptation was created. What do you think of the fact that the series included Heather Morris as a character? Do you think you would have enjoyed having her impressions in the book? Would you be interested to hear more about the interviews she did with Lale? I wonder if she has released any of that footage. It seems like the recordings haven’t been made public. 

Thanks for reading along with me this month! Make sure to leave a comment to let me know if you enjoyed the book. Our next book is Turtles All the Way Down by John Green. I hope you’ll join our discussion!