Page to Screen: Turtles All the Way Down

Turtles All the Way Down is based on the book of the same name written by  John Green. It follows Aza, a high school girl who has OCD. Her OCD manifests itself in her being afraid that any sort of bacteria she encounters will lead to her contracting clostridium difficle, commonly known as c. diff. It’s actually not that common and rarely leads to death although Aza’s sure she’ll die if she gets it. Her thought spirals as she calls them, have started to affect her relationships with her friends.

I thought this movie was a fantastic adaptation of Turtles All the Way Down. I wondered how they would do it successfully because a lot of the book is Aza’s inner thoughts. There are some great special effects used to convey what Aza is feeling and her thought spirals.

In the book, Aza reconnects with her childhood friend Davis when his billionaire Dad goes missing. It explores Davis’s feelings about this and also how Davis’s younger brother Noah is not handling things well. Davis’s father is missing in the movie but how it’s affecting Davis and Noah isn’t a part of the story. I understand why that was left out. This was a movie primarily for teenagers. To include Davis’s story would have made the movie a lot longer and might not have held the kids’ attention. Aza’s point of view is the most important.

I thought the movie was well-cast. Almost everyone looked how I pictured they would. The acting was a lot better than in most young adult movies. And John Green has a cameo! (That is not a spoiler. He posted a clip of it on Instagram.) Felix Mallard, who plays Davis, is hot in a generic hot guy way. He’s 26 in real life so it’s okay to say that! didn’t picture Davis as being particularly good looking when I read the book. He’s not nearly as awkward in the movie as he is in the book.

Turtles All the Way Down is a movie that both teenagers and adults alike will enjoy, even if they haven’t read the book or are a John Green fangirl like me. Highly recommended.