Turtles All the Way Down
**SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD AZA NEVER INTENDED** to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there's a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at sake 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. This description comes from the publisher.
Themes & atmosphere
Also by John Green
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What you might want to know about Turtles All the Way Down
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Sixteen-year-old Indianapolis high school junior Aza Holmes lives with severe OCD that loops her into worry about her own gut bacteria.
It draws on his own experience with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Green has spoken openly about how Aza's intrusive thoughts mirror his own.
Yes. A film adaptation starring Isabela Merced was released on Max in 2024.
It can be intense for readers who relate to anxiety or OCD, since the spiral-thought passages are immersive. The prose itself is accessible YA.
Turtles All the Way Down was written by John Green, published in 2017 by Dutton Books for Young Readers.
Turtles All the Way Down is 304 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Turtles All the Way Down takes most readers 5 to 7 hours to finish.
Turtles All the Way Down is a standalone novel by John Green, not part of a series.
Turtles All the Way Down is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.