Turtles All The Way Down, the highly-anticipated young adult novel by Indianapolis-based and The New York Times-bestselling author John Green, finally has an official cover. Announced this morning in a Good Morning America exclusive, the cover features an orange spiral that the author has hinted at on Twitter and in his popular vlogbrothers YouTube channel. The novel is the author’s first book in five years.
Similar to the buildup to the release of his previous book, The Fault in Our Stars, which debuted #1 on The New York Times Best Seller list of children’s books, Green agreed to signing 200,000 copies of Turtles. In discussing the differences in signatures from copy to copy, the author shared that rare copies of the book will have a spiral drawing in addition to his signature.
Announced in June, Turtles All The Way Down marks the longest the author has spent in between books. While details are still under wraps, Green has said the book explores the topic of mental illness that has affected him since childhood. Like Green, the book’s protagonist, Aza Holmes suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The book’s title is a reference to an “infinite regress” paradox in mythology that states that the world is flat, balanced on the back of a turtle, supported by a column of turtles. Within the paradox is a philosophic joke: when challenged as to what the last turtle is resting on, the anecdote states that it’s “turtles all the way down.”
It’s likely the exploration of a topic as personal and complex as mental illness, then writing about it, that is the cause of the 5-year publishing gap in the author’s work. Until the book is released, fans are only left speculating as to the meaning of the book’s mysterious title and just how far down Green’s obsessive thought spirals go.
Similar to the buildup to the release of his previous book, The Fault in Our Stars, which debuted #1 on The New York Times Best Seller list of children’s books, Green agreed to signing 200,000 copies of Turtles. In discussing the differences in signatures from copy to copy, the author shared that rare copies of the book will have a spiral drawing in addition to his signature.
Announced in June, Turtles All The Way Down marks the longest the author has spent in between books. While details are still under wraps, Green has said the book explores the topic of mental illness that has affected him since childhood. Like Green, the book’s protagonist, Aza Holmes suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The book’s title is a reference to an “infinite regress” paradox in mythology that states that the world is flat, balanced on the back of a turtle, supported by a column of turtles. Within the paradox is a philosophic joke: when challenged as to what the last turtle is resting on, the anecdote states that it’s “turtles all the way down.”
It’s likely the exploration of a topic as personal and complex as mental illness, then writing about it, that is the cause of the 5-year publishing gap in the author’s work. Until the book is released, fans are only left speculating as to the meaning of the book’s mysterious title and just how far down Green’s obsessive thought spirals go.
