John Green returns to high school in upcoming novel

Indianapolis author John Green has revealed a big secret: The follow-up to his blockbuster novel “The Fault in Our Stars” will arrive Oct. 10.

Green broke the news at VidCon, the Anaheim, Calif., online-video convention he co-founded with his brother, Hank Green.

"In the last two years I have been able to work consistently on a story, and it's been really great," Green told a VidCon audience June 22, Mashable.com reported. "It’s been really fun — hard, but fun … and I kept it a secret from you guys because I really wanted this moment. I really wanted to be able to tell you in person."

The upcoming book, titled “Turtles All the Way Down,” will break a five-year drought between Green novels.

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Similar to “The Fault in Our Stars,” a story that sold more than 23 million copies in written form and more than $300 million in tickets as a movie, “Turtles All the Way Down” features a teenage girl as the protagonist.
 
According to publisher Dutton Books, 16-year-old Aza Holmes grapples with mental health issues while searching for a fugitive billionaire in “Turtles All the Way Down.” The narrator of “The Fault in Our Stars” is Hazel Grace Lancaster, a 16-year-old girl who lives in Indianapolis.
 
In May, Green shared an excerpt of the new writing as a perk for donors in the annual “Project for Awesome” philanthropic fundraiser.
 
The excerpt was not billed as the sneak peek of a new novel, but it focused on a female character nicknamed “Holmesy” who attends fictional White River High School in Indianapolis.
 
In a December 2016 interview, Green told IndyStar his new writing revisited themes he previously abandoned.
 
"It's like building a car out of all the broke-down cars in your front yard," he said. "I'm always trying to figure out what I can use off this junked car and what I can use off that junked car. Hopefully, someday I will be able to build a running car out of all those junked cars."
 
Green talked about his struggles with obsessive compulsive disorder during a NerdCon: Stories convention speech last October in Minneapolis.

In a statement issued June 22 by his publisher, Green described his connection to Aza Holmes.

“This is my first attempt to write directly about the kind of mental illness that has affected my life since childhood, so while the story is fictional, it is also quite personal,” he said.

Green plans to sign the first 200,000 copies of “Turtles All the Way Down” in a first-print run of 1.5 million books.
 
The novel is available for preorder at barnesandnoble.com and Amazon.com.

Call IndyStar reporter David Lindquist at (317) 444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.