Author: John Green
Book Link

It’s difficult to give this an unbiased review after loving Paper Towns and The Fault In Our Stars. Understanding this book would be neither one of the two, nor does it need to be, I did come to it with high expectations.

Green definitely delivers in his style and voice in this book, but the main narrative is a bit fuzzy. There are a few tangents happening and all of them could have been better served as the focus of this book, but who am I to give judgment on the choices of a best-selling author?

The main character, Aza, is handled brilliantly as someone struggling with mental health issues. Her internal dialogue is enough to keep the reader captivated, especially as Aza lives two lives in the narrative: the one in her head and the one she presents to others.

However, the story is really about friendship and the search for a fugitive billionaire.

Then the writing gets existential… which is up my alley considering my background and interests… but it doesn’t quite fit with the story… or that it’s being doled out by teenagers. And no, this isn’t me saying teenagers can’t have existential conversations, but I’m hard pressed to be convinced they sound like post-grad philosophy students on a daily basis.

If, however, the characters were in their late twenties/early thirties, then I’d be on board. This is possibly just my personal taste based on personal experience and I still finished the book anyway.

I’m torn with this one as it didn’t work for me, but I can see it working for others.