Quotable: Turtles All the Way Down

Turtles All the Way Down was one of those books that took me a while to get into, but the moment I sat down and said “You are going to read this now” I couldn’t put it down. John Green blew it out of the park again with this novel and it is one I will definitely reread at some point. It had me scribbling on post it notes all sorts of quotes I didn’t want to forget. I thought I could share a few of them with you. My rating: 5/5 turtles

Right off the bat, page one (pages based on the hardcover first print edition) provides us with this gem, “But I was beginning to learn that your life is a story told about you, not one that you tell.” ~John Green

Then on page seven, “The thing about a spiral is, if you follow it inward, it never actually ends. It just keeps tightening, infinitely.” ~John Green

This quote shows the reader one of the first glimpses at the main character’s (Aza’s) struggles with the spirals she falls into. That quote serves as a good summary for the book. Another one on page nine that evoked some thought, “It’s quite rare to find someone who sees the same world as you see.” ~John Green

Page 22 brought out some more thoughts, “True terror isn’t being scared; it’s not having a choice in the matter.” ~John Green

This one is just a friendly reminder for those that need it, “Your now is not your forever.” ~John Green

And finally this one points out something so obvious that we say all the time but never really think about, “It’s a weird phrase in English, in love, like it’s a sea you drown in or a town you live in. You don’t get to be in anything else- in friendship or in anger or in hope. All you can be in is love.” ~John Green