Turtles All The Way Down

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green

 

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green is a young adult fiction novel about friendship, romance, loss, and mystery. It is told through the eyes of Aza, a young woman struggling with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Aza has a lot going on in her life and even more going on in her head. The book opens with Aza in one of her "thought spirals." Much of the book is navigating through her thoughts and compulsive and irrational fears. Aza's best friend, Daisy, tries to help keep her grounded in reality, but the story really begins when a local billionaire, Russell Pickett, mysteriously disappears. Daisy convinces Aza that they should hunt for clues and collect the reward money. Aza went to grade school with Pickett's son, Davis, and they reconnect during their quest for clues. A love story unfolds between Aza and Davis but does not develop too much because Aza is so controlled by her compulsion. Aza 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.”

 

Teens and OCD by Barbara Sheen

 

Aza struggles with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and as many teens struggle with mental health issues. Luckily there are healthcare professionals, friends and family, and lots of resources to help, including resources at our library to help teens understand and deal with their own mental health or to help understanding what their friends and families are going through. Aza eventually realizes that she must accept herself and learn to see herself outside of her thoughts and actions.

An Introduction to Photo Stacking

 

In a strange twist, Aza and Daisy find themselves at a friend's art gallery--in the sewer. Mychal creates an art piece by stacking 100 photos of inmates on top of each other to create a composite image of inmate 100. There is a fairly new art form of tacking photographs to create new images. Try your hand at photo stacking by following the tutorial above or look at some examples here.

Auckland Zoo: Tuatara 

 

In the story, Pickett leaves his billions to his pet Tuatara and to a research fund to continue study about how the species has survived so long. The single species of tuatara is the only survivor of it's order, which originated in the Triassic period around 250 million years ago. It's essentially a dinosaur! You can learn more about the tuatara through this video with an Ectotherms Keeper at the Auckland Zoo.

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One of the ways that Aza deals with her anxiety by looking through old photos on a phone that belonged to her late father. What are some ways that you deal with stress and anxiety in your life?