Turtles All the Way Down by John Green review – a new modern classic

Five years after The Fault in Our Stars, John Green has written another YA novel that will resonate with teenagers and comfort anxious young minds everywhere

Following the gargantuan success of John Green’s 2012 YA novel The Fault in Our Stars, Turtles All the Way Down is a publishing mega-event. It’s also a book some might find easy to not like. It is sentimental, occasionally cliched and ticks so many teen fiction boxes you sometimes wonder if the author has a form beside him (troubled teen narrator – check; love interest – check; adults who don’t understand – check; quirky best friend - check; scene where boy points out stars to girl – check; topical issue – check). I wondered at first if I wouldn’t like it, but, spoiler alert, I rather did.

The story, narrated by a troubled Indianapolis teenager, Aza Holmes, begins as a mystery. Along with her mildly unscrupulous best friend Daisy, Aza decides to search for billionaire Russell Pickett, who has gone missing under a cloud of fraud and bribery accusations, in the hope of pocketing the $100,000 reward money.

Related: Guardian children's books podcast: John Green on The Fault In Our Stars

Continue reading... October 10, 2017 at 12:00PM