75 pages • 2 hours read
John GreenTurtles All the Way Down
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2017A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Character Analysis
Aza Holmes
Aza, a 16-year-old high school student, is the protagonist of the novel. Aza suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder, with an extreme degree of anxiety and hypochondria. Her fear of bacterial infection is paralyzing and consumes her mind on a regular basis. Her obsessive thoughts and compulsive behavior interfere with her daily life and with her maintenance of interpersonal relationships. She has known her best friend Daisy since childhood, but Aza’s mental illness prevents her from giving Daisy reciprocal support and attention. Aza begins a romantic relationship with Davis but must break it off because her anxiety will not allow physical intimacy. Aza’s mental health deteriorates throughout the story, to the point that she feels compelled to swallow hand sanitizer to momentarily quiet the insistent terror of bacteria.
When Aza and Daisy embark on a mission to collect a reward for information on the disappearance of Russell Pickett, Aza is reunited with the man’s son, Davis. Aza had previously been friends with Davis when they met at a camp for children who had lost a parent, but she has not seen him in many years. Davis and Aza feel that they are kindred spirits who understand each other’s loneliness and pain. Though Aza ends up breaking up with Davis, she considers him her first love, and his influence shapes the person she becomes.
Aza’s life has been impacted by the death of her father when she was young. The trauma of that unexpected loss precipitated the development of her anxiety and fears. Comments made by her mother that Aza is “just like” her father, who was an incessant worrier, seem to indicate that Aza’s OCD may have been inherited. Aza tries to keep her father present in her life by driving his car and looking through the pictures he took on his cell phone. When these are both lost in an accident, it is a fresh trauma that contributes to Aza’s breakdown.
Aza tries to solve the mystery of Davis’s father’s disappearance, but the true puzzle Aza seeks to understand is her own identity. Aza feels that she might be “fictional,” as she questions the nature of reality and her place in it. She feels split into multiple “selves,” which are frequently at war with each other, shouting their demands in her head, which pushes out her connection with the “real” world. Aza has many identities: best friend, daughter, student, but none of those feel like the “true” Aza. She keeps searching for some sign of her “real” self but constantly feels unsatisfied. At the end of the story, Aza has realized, with Daisy’s help, that she will never find a definitive answer to who her “real” self is because her identity is constantly changing and evolving.
Daisy Ramirez
Daisy is Aza’s longtime best friend. Daisy is extroverted, dramatic, and talkative. Daisy is an enthusiastic fan of the Star Wars universe and has written fan fiction since she was 11 years old. Daisy works a much-detested job at Chuck E. Cheese to save money for college, though she quits when she receives half the money Davis gives Aza.
Daisy’s family is in a lower economic class, so she must work hard to try and keep up with her peers in lower-budget ways. Daisy sees the reward for information about Pickett as a way to “strike it rich” and improve her life circumstances. Daisy enters into a relationship with her friend Mychal, which consumes much of her time and energy. Once she receives her windfall, Daisy buys a car and a laptop to put herself on par with Aza. Daisy is hurt and resentful when Aza criticizes her for these purchases, as she has always been supportive of Aza, who has not reciprocated. Daisy uses her fan fiction stories to vent her frustrations with Aza and to build her self-esteem, as her stories are popular and lauded. By the end of the story, Daisy realizes that Aza is the primary relationship in her life and their friendship is more meaningful than having a boyfriend.
Russell Davis Pickett, Jr.
Davis is a wealthy high schooler who becomes Aza’s love interest. Davis lives on a vast estate that includes a golf course and a domed tropical habitat. His father, a billionaire who owns the largest engineering firm in the city, has amassed a fortune through unscrupulous business practices and fled to avoid being arrested. Davis claims to not care that his father has disappeared and says that it would be best if he stayed away, because he was never a loving father. When Davis reconnects with Aza, he fears that she is only interested in him because of the reward for information on his father’s whereabouts. Davis develops an instant attraction to Aza, so to reassure himself that she likes him for himself rather than for his money, Davis gives Aza $100,000 in cash. This amount is trifling to Davis, who is so privileged that he takes his family’s material wealth for granted.
Davis suffers from a crisis of identity, like Aza, though his is caused by his questioning whether he can separate himself from his family’s wealth. Davis loved his mother very much and was devastated when his father offered no love and support following her illness and death. Davis writes poetry and blog posts that ponder his place in the universe. He loves to look at the stars, to see the vastness of what exists outside of his own head. At the end of the story, Davis finds that his identity lies in the role of a protector of his younger brother Noah, after it is discovered that their father is dead. His father’s estate is left to a tuatara, an ancient reptile, rather than to the sons. Davis is freed from the confines of his family’s wealth.
Aza’s Mother
Aza’s mother is never named in the story; she is simply referred to as “Mom.” She is a high school math teacher at Aza’s school. She struggles emotionally to deal with supporting a child with mental illness, while still grieving for her late husband. Aza’s mother is sensitive, caring, and loves her daughter with all her heart. She worries incessantly about Aza’s well-being, as she fears losing Aza as well. It troubles her that Aza will not share her feelings and fears and that she does not know exactly how Aza spends her time with Davis. Her determination to protect her daughter causes her to prejudge Davis, thinking that he is not serious with her daughter because he feels wealthy and entitled. She apologizes when she learns that Davis truly cares about Aza. Aza’s mother pins her hopes for Aza’s mental health improvement on standard treatments, as she tries to assess Aza’s condition by constantly asking if she is feeling anxious and if she is taking her medication.
When Aza is injured in the car accident, her mother experiences tremendous fear. Aza reaches out to her for help, and her mother is ready to lend her support. By the end of the story, they have come to a greater understanding and Aza’s mother is more willing to trust Aza and let go of her as she approaches adulthood.
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