Turtles All the Way Down
John Green

Green is the master of writing about teenagers with severe problems. He makes them relatable, admirable, flawed, and funny. In this case the girl is contending with OCD and anxiety. We learn in the back matter that Green has struggled with these conditions himself, which explains how he can so sharply get into Aza’s head as she spirals down into destructive thoughts. The book doesn’t have a fairy tale ending, but it does provide the realistic hope that the conditions can become tolerable, as they did for Green, allowing room for joy. Turtles All the Way Down helped me understand someone in my life who suffers from anxiety and is not always able to stop catastrophic thoughts. If you know someone like this, or if you are someone like this, do read it, or share it with your someone who needs it.

The Hotel Balzaar
Kate DiCamillo

As Jen mentioned in Staff Picks, she and I often choose not to read the same books. However, one day I got a text from her saying I HAD to read The Hotel Balzaar. When I got to the store, an advance copy of the book was in my mailbox, with a post-it note with a big heart on it. I can take a hint, so, I read and loved it. I’m an adult who never lost her heart for fairy tales, and the book is perfect.

Marta and her mother lived in an attic room at the Hotel Balzaar, where her mother worked long hours. Marta could leave the room during the day, but her mother impressed upon her that she must be quiet. Marta’s father was away at war, under somewhat vague circumstances.

Marta quietly moved through the hotel each day, visiting various furnishings and Norman the bellman, who was five hundred years old—or maybe six hundred. Her routine never varied until the countess, an old woman dressed in red with a green parrot on her shoulder, arrived.

Suddenly, Marta was in the countess’ room, listening to her spin-out stories.  She only told one story a day, and Marta gradually realized the stories were connected to one another, and to her.What happened next? You’ll need to read the book to find out!

The Hotel Balzaar is the second and newest book in DiCamillo’s series, Tales of Norendy. The first book was The Puppets of Spelhorst. The books appear to stand alone, but who knows? Perhaps there will be a connection down the road.

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