John Green truly out did this one and stunned his readers with his new book that was released in late 2017. Turtles All the Way Down was written in a brand new style, approaching the story in a different way than usual. This book really shows the effects mental illness can have on teenagers’ daily lives, handling the loss of a loved one, and relationships with the people around them.

The main character in the book, Aza, suffers from extreme OCD and anxiety and constantly battles this while at the same time, trying to solve the mystery of missing millionaire, Mr. Pickett. With a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake, Aza’s best friend, Daisy, is committed to solving the mystery and she’s dragging her along. After reuniting with an old friend who happens to be the son of the missing man, Aza gets stuck in a weird situation when she starts to fall for him.

For some readers, the plot of the book may be hard to follow due to the fact that there is a lot going on. Most books solely focus on one theme but this one has many throughout the story. But in my opinion, it was different than anything he has ever written and was done very well. Not only is it a love story that focuses on relationships between humans, it is also a mystery which is new for John Green.

The style of the book is very different than his others such as best seller The Fault in Our Stars. The book is a heart wrenching love story that contains themes that are well-known together: love and tragedy. In his new book, Turtles is both a romantic comedy and a detective story along with the typical young adult topic, high school drama. For three completely abstract themes, Green does an amazing job pulling them all together and making it work.

In the book, Green brings readers into the mind of Aza Holmes and pulls them into a new world revolving around endless thought spirals. The thing that Aza fears the most is the contamination of bacteria and she often questions if she even really exists. Because of the amount of detail put in about the subject, it might be hard for some readers to follow. Throughout the story, Aza learns to come to terms with her mental illness and shows that bad times truly don’t last forever. The character development throughout the book is really good not only for Aza but also the other main characters such as Daisy and Davis, Mr. Pickett’s son, as well.

The book takes place in the city of Indianapolis where John Green and his family are from. He depicts the city as a beautiful place that hides lots of problems, giving readers an insight to a location they may or may not have ever been to. In his books, Green tends to talk about mental illness and in many interviews, states that he struggles with both severe anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder. Turtles All the Way Down is a very personal book that gives readers an insight to what it’s like to live with these illnesses.

If you’re looking for a tear jerking, moving mystery story, Turtles All the Way Down is the book for you.