Tag: anxiety

Book review: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Dutton Books, 2017

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green is a masterfully crafted book that accurately depicts life with a mental illness by tapping into the spiraling world of a teenage mind. The empathetic narrative also offers a bevy of memorable voices. The story follows a young girl named Aza, who is reunited with her fugitive billionaire friend, Davis, whose dad has gone missing. Aza struggles to juggle school, her social life, and her family, while having to deal with the never-ending spiral of her own thoughts. Even though she struggles so much, she is still smart and loved so dearly offering a balanced depiction.

The way Aza’s struggle was put into words was incredible, and it portrays mental illness so accurately. I related to Aza’s journey. Aza’s mental illness never goes away or is cured, and nothing is glossed over, cured, or romanticized. The relationships in this book are very authentic as well because the mental health representation is spot on. It may give someone a character to relate to or give someone else a greater understanding of mental.

Book review: Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

Greenwillow Books, 2017

Eighteen-year-old Eliza Mirk straddles two worlds: in real life, she’s a shy and friendless high school student, but online, she is known as LadyConstellation, anonymous creator of the highly popular webcomic: Monstrous Sea. Eliza finds so much joy online that there’s hardly any joy left for her life offline. She lost herself in the world and characters she created, and it was so much easier for her to remain cocooned in her imaginary world than challenge herself to make real-life connections. But when Wallace Warland transfers to Eliza’s school, he reveals himself to be Monstrous Sea’s biggest fanfiction writer, rainmaker. Though Wallace and Eliza grow close and bond over their love for Monstrous Sea, Eliza struggles with revealing her own identity as the creator of the webcomic.

Wallace even begins to draw Eliza out of her shell. After a series of strange events threaten to expose everything, she’s worked to keep hidden, Eliza finds that her world has begun to crumble around her. She deals with anxiety, depression, and overwhelming pressure as she tries to learn how to reconcile the two halves of her life that seem so far apart. She lives in her comics and her dedication to her creation and her fandom borders on an unhealthy obsession as she treads the boundaries between her online presence and reality.

Shyness, escapism, obsession, and low self-worth were all very relatable in this story. It’s a great look at the messiness of love when depression and low self-esteem get in the way of communication. This heartbreaking, quick read is also worth reading for parents that are wondering, no, struggling to understand why your teen is a part of a fandom. The book has little drawings and stories from her webcomic throughout, making it more interactive and engaging. It’s delving into PTSD, anxiety, and depression is a trigger warning for this near tearjerker about teen angst and romance.