Tag Archives: Cancer

Turtles All the Way Down AND Everybody Hurts

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Turtles All the Way Down by John Green and Everybody Hurts by Joanna Nadin and Anthony McGowan

Books of the Week: 10 December 2017

A two-for-one offer this week!

These would make great companion reads. Both are love stories featuring characters from different sides of the tracks. Aza, from Turtles All the Way Down, is from an ordinary family. Her father died when she was young but she and her mum are close. Davis, whose father is missing and who Aza and her friend Daisy try to help, inhabits a vast mansion complete with security guards. Sophia, in Everybody Hurts is from a privileged background and attends school in a wealthy part of Leeds, whereas Matt doesn’t own any clothes with designer labels, has a postman father and is slightly embarrassed by the thought of bringing anyone around to his house. Sophia has been diagnosed with a brain tumour and faces the possibility of it being untreatable and Aza has crippling OCD. Both couples relationships affect not only themselves but the family and friends who surround them.

Turtles probably has less immediate appeal than John Green’s most popular book, The Fault in our Stars, and it doesn’t tug on the heart strings in such an obvious way. The portrayal of Aza’s mental state is particularly affecting and the characters have the usual smart philosophical conversations that you find in his other books. If, on the other hand, you like romance to be a bit grittier and more identifiable  you might prefer Sophia and Matt’s romance which is set in Leeds. Although the level of swearing and sexual references make this more suitable for those of sixteen and older, it still has a tender heart and is wise in its depiction of friendships, particularly Matt’s relationship with the edgy and bullying Jango who has been a friend since childhood.

If you are interested in love stories written by two authors you could also try these:

Before I Die

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Before I Die by Jenny Downham

Book of the Week: 1 November 2015

Before I die

 

This week’s book has been chosen by Dominic who is a Student Library Assistant. Here is his enthusiastic review:

“This phenomenal piece of genius captures the reader throughout its duration, leaving you wishing the deeply complex characters were real, rather than a bunch of cleverly arranged letters.

The highly descriptive style of writing tells the story of Tessa Scott, who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia four years before the book is set. Constantly experiencing their daughter’s sudden mood swings, Tessa’s father, obsessed with finding a cure, and her mother, divorced from Tessa’s father, are driven insane by Tessa’s unpredictable disposition. Tessa’s only haven is her next door neighbour, Adam, whose mother is stricken by depression after the death of her husband and needs looking after, and Zoey, Tessa’s best friend, a wild and free girl. But she also has a list.

Whilst Tessa’s priorities are focused on completing her list of things to do, this book makes you realise that you don’t need to complete a list to have lived and also makes you feel privileged to be alive.

A few of my favourite quotes include, “A handful of withered apples turn to rust” and “trying to feel its bruised slate colour through my fingers”, for their contradictory descriptions.

I would recommend that this book is read with a roomful of tissues to hand.

In summary, I cannot express this book’s pure ingenuity in words. It is undoubtedly the best book ever written.

Also, if you wish to watch a film version, one has been made under the name of ‘Now is Good’.”

 

 

Librarian’s note: Suitable for older readers due to mature themes of illness and loss.