If you don’t know that John Green has a new book coming out, then you haven’t been online lately… The book was announced at the end of June 2017 and immediately sparked a press frenzy, clearly showing the high level of anticipation – which is to be understood since John Green’s last book, The Fault in Our Stars (TFIOS), was published back in 2012. This will be his fifth book (seventh if you count the two he co-wrote) and the release date is set for October 10, 2017.
Turtles All the Way Down is another YA-novel along the lines of his previous work. He usually writes about teenagers who are struggling with something painful or difficult and experience something amazing at the same time. Here, the main character Aza is a high school student struggling with mental illness. This is set against a background of a missing billionaire who has a reward out for him. Her best friend, Daisy, is determined to investigate and figure out what happened to the billionaire, so Aza joins Daisy – all the while trying to be a good person and living with the “ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.”
Green has given several reasons for the book coming out this much later than his previous books: he was busy (because John Green is so much more than an author), feeling daunted by TFIOS’ success and having to follow up on that, and also because this book hits close to home. He has struggled with mental illness himself since childhood, which makes this story a little bit more personal than the previous ones. So, without further ado, let’s enjoy the blurb:
Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett’s son, Davis.
Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.
In his long-awaited return, John Green, the acclaimed, award-winning author of Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars, shares Aza’s story with shattering, unflinching clarity in this brilliant novel of love, resilience, and the power of lifelong friendship.
Earlier this month, Green posted a video on his Vlogbrothers YouTube-channel reading the first chapter, enjoy:
I like the premise of the book, and I also really like the first chapter. So I put this book on my to read-list, I can’t wait to read it. But I also really can’t wait for mid-October when the internet will be flooded with people loving it and people hating it. When it comes to John Green, the consensus seems to be that you either hate or love his books – I don’t know a lot of people who are in between. Myself? I’m actually in between. I liked some of it, and I disliked some of it. But since I do like him as a person (well, based on what I’ve seen from him on YouTube), I am going to read it. Also, YA that deals with mental illness? I think John Green is one of the authors probably most suited to do so, it should be interesting!
Oh, and from his hints online and the clues he’s been giving everywhere, we also know that Aza is quite geeky (as evidenced already in the first chapter), which means there will be geeky references. Since John Green is a co-founder of NerdCon and Nerdfighteria, which, amongst others, support the fandom-culture worldwide, it should be interesting! I wonder what fandoms he’ll go for? I’ve heard rumors about Star Wars fan fiction.
Have you been eagerly anticipating this release? Or are you already sick of the fuss surrounding it? Let me know in the comments!
Happy reading,
Loes M.
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