John Green’s ‘Turtles’ at home in Indianapolis

New novel spotlights White River, Pogue's Run and IndyStar

A turtle is seen on the White River. The river is featured prominently in John Green's 2017 novel, "Turtles All the Way Down."

After placing the action of 2012 best-seller “The Fault in Our Stars” in Indianapolis and Amsterdam, John Green made new novel “Turtles All the Way Down” a completely Indianapolis story.

"Turtles," which arrived in stores Tuesday and is expected to land quickly atop best-seller charts, is narrated by White River High School student Aza Holmes.

Holmes battles debilitating mental health issues while trying to find out what happened to a billionaire who disappears just before facing arrest for white-collar crimes.

White River High School doesn't actually exist, but Green includes multiple references to real places in the city where he's lived since 2007.

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Check out 10 instances in which "Turtles All the Way Down" lines up with life in Indianapolis:

1. White River

The White River with Noblesville's Potter's Bridge in background.

Holmes lives along the White River "on the side that sometimes flooded." The billionaire lives "on the side with the stone-gabled walls that forced the rising water in our direction." The teenager makes a canoe trip on the waterway, despite her description that the river is "50 percent urine. And that's the good half."

2. Pogue's Run

In this 2013 photo, IndyStar reporter Will Higgins, avid bicyclist Jamey McPherson and French visiting artist Florian Riviere are seen at one end of the Pogue's Run tunnel.

"Turtles All the Way Down" brings new attention to subterranean curiosity Pogue's Run. Holmes attends an unconventional art show at Pogue's Run, a Downtown waterway “buried in a concrete tube in 1914 because it had become basically an open sewer,” IndyStar’s Will Higgins reported in 2015. The eastern end of the Pogue's Run tunnel is found along New York Street near the junction of I-65 and I-70. The western end meets the White River near Kentucky Avenue and Morris Street.

3. Michigan Road mansion

Aerial view of Christel DeHaan's home.

The expansive home of fictional billionaire Russell Pickett corresponds with the location of the estate of entrepreneur-philanthropist Christel DeHaan. As Green writes, Pickett lives "across the road from the art museum." DeHaan's walled compound in the 4200 block of Michigan Road is northeast of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Her home, 20,000 square feet and with a 2013 assessed value of $5 million, was built in 2003. Green writes the Pickett estate "wasn't in a nice neighborhood, exactly, but it was so gigantic that it functioned as a neighborhood unto itself."

4. Applebee’s at 86th and Ditch

An Applebee's restaurant.

Thanks to a surplus of coupons, Holmes and her friends spend a lot of time at an Applebee's restaurant near the intersection of 86th Street and Ditch Road. This plot point may remind readers that "The Fault in Our Stars" included a pivotal scene in which Augustus Waters suffered a medical emergency at a Speedway gas station right across the street.

5. IU Health North Hospital

IU Health North Hospital.

Holmes sees a psychiatrist at IU Health North Hospital, 11700 N. Meridian St., Carmel. The hospital was known as Clarian North Medical Center when it opened in 2005.

6. The Indianapolis Star

The Indianapolis Star, 130 S. Meridian St.

On the bright side, Green's hometown newspaper is credited for its investigative journalism related to Russell Pickett. The novel also includes an anecdote in which Holmes' friend, Daisy Ramirez, dupes an IndyStar reporter.

7. The Indianapolis Prize

Polar-bear researcher Dr. Steven Amstrup accepts the Indianapolis Prize in 2012.

Billionaire Pickett gave a surprising speech at the Indianapolis Prize ceremony. The Indianapolis Prize, awarded every other year by the Indianapolis Zoo, recognizes conservationists who work to protect and preserve endangered animal species around the globe.

8. Juan Solomon Park

Juan Solomon Park.

Holmes recalls family outings to Juan Solomon Park near the intersection of West 62nd Street and Grandview Drive. Juan Solomon Park is less than 2 miles west of Holliday Park, which was featured in "The Fault in Our Stars."

9. Higher education

Butler University.

"Turtles All the Way Down" includes mentions of Butler University, Indiana University, Purdue University and IUPUI's Herron School of Art and Design.

10. Kipp Normand

Kipp Normand.

This is guesswork on our part, but a bearded man named "Kip" who's one of the organizers of the underground art show has to be a nod to Indianapolis artist Kipp Normand, right? Normand is co-creator of Fountain Square's Museum of Psychphonics and the subject of a short film titled "Kipp Normand."

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