John Green fans waited in agony for their favorite author to release the new book, Turtles All the Way Down. After fans fell in love with Green’s last release, The Fault in Our Stars, they couldn’t wait to get their hands on another heart-wrenching masterpiece.

The book is narrated by Aza Holmes, who suffers from OCD and anxiety. The book circles around a mystery and her battle with mental illness. Green said writing the book was difficult at times, and he often had to separate himself from his writing just to handle the emotions he was pouring onto paper.

At the surface, Green wrote a book about two best friends, Aza and Daisy, who get wrapped up in the mysterious disappearance of Russell Pickett, a fugitive billionaire on the run. The company is offering a $100,000 reward for his return. Daisy jumps at the opportunity to win the money and takes Aza along for the ride. Of course, Green’s new book is filled with the cliches the fans long for. There’s a cheesy love story, perfect friendships and devastating heartbreak.

Green wanted to tell a different story within the walls of romance and mystery. Modern media is filled with detectives who go above and beyond because of their mental illness. In Green’s own experience, his obsessive tendencies interrupted his daily flow and this is the story he wanted to tell.

“I wanted to write a detective story where the plot keeps getting interrupted by this person’s inability to live in the world in the way that she wants to,” said Green.

When authors give their character’s mental disorders they often conclude that the disorder is “fixed.” In reality, this is not the case. Aza is not sick and spending more time with her friends or meeting the perfect guy is not going to make her “better.” People can learn how to cope with OCD and anxiety, but they do not just go away.

A lot is hidden in between the lines of Turtles All the Way Down. Green does an excellent job of telling two stories in one: the mystery of a missing fugitive and the struggle of mental illness in a teen’s life. This book is packed with everything fans love about John Green: humor, love and tears.

9/10