12. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
Aza and Daisy are teenage girls who stumble into trying to solve the mystery of a missing billionaire who disappeared after being caught running a Ponzi scheme in order to get the reward money. Aza realizes that the man is the father of her old camp friend Davis so she uses their previous relationship to try and get close enough to the situation to find out what happened, but quickly realizes that Davis and his brother are deeply affected by what happened. In the process Davis and she become something more than old friends. Through all of this though the real struggle Aza faces is her own mind. She has severe anxiety that affects all her thoughts and actions and as a result her friendship with her best friend Daisy and her budding relationship with Davis.
Green, who I gather suffers from anxiety himself, does an excellent job of describing the intruding thoughts and actions that occur during severe anxiety that cannot be shut down even if you realize that they’re wrong. It does make it a tiring read, but of course that is the point. I give it a 6 out of 10.
Around the Year in 100 Books 