When wanted billionaire, Russell Pickett, goes on the lamb with a $100,000 bounty on his head, sixteen-year-old Aza steps in. Along with her best friend and Pickett’s son, Davis, they stay hot on the trail of the fugitive, while discovering themselves in the process.

      I can remember in seventh grade when John Green books became a hot-commodity around Mazzuchelli. In his first book since the best-selling The Fault in Our Stars of 2012, Green tackles issues facing today’s youth, with an emphasis on mental health.

      The main character, Aza, suffers from anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder. The novel opens up her mind for the reader to explore, showing the daily struggles of a person living with a mental illness.

      However, the real magic in John Green’s writing is that a reader doesn’t need to be struggling with these issues to identify with the characters. The themes are universal, regardless of the background of the one reading.

      In some ways, the story is frustrating, and it can leave some feeling unsatisfied. But, as Green wrote in The Fault in Our Stars, the best books are the ones that end with the reader wanting more. By leaving parts of the plot suspended in uncertainty, Green assures that every new reader gets a different experience by reading his work. In other words, everyone gets to decide for themselves how certain parts end up.

   Turtles All the Way Down  was published in October 2017, and is still flying off the shelves. The Carnegie Stout Public Library has multiple copies, both print and electronic, available for checkout.