【Friend’s Mothers 4】

John Green hasn't released a new novel since 2012,Friend’s Mothers 4 but, with the success of The Fault In Our Stars, he's significantly increased the pressure on himself to pen something memorable.

Now, five years after TFIOS, Green is back with his latest novel, Turtles All the Way Down. TATWDwill have an initial print run of 1.5 million (for context: the first printing of TFIOS consisted of 200,000 books, all of which Green signed), and proportionately more eyes on the bestselling author and his story of love, adventure, and mental illness.

Luckily for all of us, Green knows what he's doing, and the first reviews for his new novel are strong.

Here's what critics are saying about Turtles All the Way Down:

Even though it's about teenagers, Green treats their stories – as always – with profound respect.

Jennifer Senior, The New York Times:

There are few subjects more upsetting than young people with cancer. But Green’s latest book, “Turtles All the Way Down,” is somehow far darker, not so much because of the subject matter — though that’s dark too — but because of how he chooses to write about it. This novel is by far his most difficult to read. It’s also his most astonishing...If Green were writing in his usual register, he’d interrupt Aza’s descents into these cognitive spirals — or “light-swallowing wormholes,” as she once calls them — with a bit of humor. But he seems to have made a decision: If Aza can’t find relief, neither can we.

Its imperfections pale in comparison to Green's skill as a writer.

Matt Haig, The Guardian:

This is by no means a perfect novel. The mystery and love story and mental health aspects often feel compartmentalised and it is 50 pages too long. Aza can be a repetitive narrator: this may be appropriate for someone who suffers repetitive thoughts, but can make the reading experience frustrating. Some of the recurring mental illness metaphors couldn’t have been hammered harder by Thor himself; it feels as though the illness-as-spiral idea occurs at least once a chapter, and there are more stargazy sentimental Big Moments than at a Coldplay concert. But all this is overridden by the fact that where the author is good, he is very, very good.

It's not TFiOS, but why should it be?

Meghan Cox Gurdon, The Wall Street Journal:

Having wept through “The Fault in Our Stars” in both its book and movie versions, enthusiasts will want to know: Does “Turtles All the Way Down” offer the same sort of cathartic transport? It doesn’t, but perhaps it couldn’t. While there is tenderness and wisdom here, and a high quotient of big ideas, too, the stakes are lower, and so the drama is somewhat diminished. Mr. Green writes from personal experience of mental illness, so he is able to give us a real sense of how exhausting it must be to live with OCD and anxiety. We’re stuck inside Aza’s head and suffocating in the tightening gyre along with her to such a degree that, as the novel progresses, we become no more observant of the characters around her than she is.

The characters are as sharp and witty as ever.

Brian Truitt, USA Today:

While Turtlesdoesn’t have the sharp tonal focus of previous Green books like the outstanding An Abundance of Katherines, it does boast clever one-liners (“Star Warsis the American religion”), insightful witty dialogue and well-developed characters that are all hallmarks of the writer's enjoyable teen-dream prose. Daisy especially is strong, a spunky sort full of non sequiturs who writes online Chewbacca and Rey fan fiction yet has more complicated feelings in the real world when it comes to her BFF. Green expertly communicates the confusion and pain of Aza’s invasive thoughts, the way they spin out of control and their inescapable hold on her.

The world of OCD becomes tangible and authentic.

Luann Toth, School Library Journal:

As always, Green creates whip-smart and articulate characters who will charm, frustrate, and possibly annoy readers. While the romance is never fully realized, this is undoubtedly a love story. Aza is a likable protagonist and readers will be caught up in the claustrophobic, narrowing spiral that is her existence and root for her to gain control of her life. Her tough, brutally honest first-person narrative will leave teens battered and raw but will also show them that, with love, everything is possible.

Turtles All the Way Downis in bookstores now.