John Green: 'Turtles all the Way Down' resonates with teens overwhelmed in post-COVID world

NEW YORK, May 3 (UPI) -- Author John Green says he thinks the film version of Turtles All the Way Down, which is being released in a post-COVID pandemic era, may be even more relevant than his book was when it was published in 2017.

Now streaming on Max, the critically acclaimed romantic dramedy stars Isabela Merced as Aza, a 17-year-old suffering from crippling anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder, which strains her ability to get close to people.

Cree, who goes by one name, plays Aza's free-spirited, supportive best friend Daisy and Felix Mallard plays Davis, the rich, handsome guy who adores her, even though her condition means she gets physically ill at the idea of kissing him.

The cast also includes Maliq Johnson, Poorna Jagannathan, Judy Reyes, and J. Smith-Cameron.

"There's been a huge shift in the way we talk about mental health, which is good. It's good that we're emphasizing mental health more, but, also, it's clear that many more kids are struggling," Green, who served as executive producer on the adaptation of his novel, told UPI in a Zoom interview Thursday.

"The reasons for that are complicated and still not particularly well understood, but it's a real concern for me."

Green said he initially wrote the book as a love letter to his high school self to tell him that he was going to be OK and there is hope, "even when your brain tells you that there isn't."

He said he never expected the story to resonate with so many other people.

"Especially now, it's reached this new generation of kids who are coming of age in a time where we all have a heightened relationship with microbes," Green added.

Another way young viewers may relate to the story is how Aza uses texting as a coping mechanism to stay in touch with people she cares about, without having to put herself in physically uncomfortable situations.

"That's something that I was interested in -- the way that we use texting as a way of being intimate," Green said. "How that can be really productive and helpful in some ways and in other ways it can prevent us from being as close to each other as as we might be."

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and Awkward actress Hannah Marks directed the film and plays the supporting role of Holly, the Applebee's waitress who always gets stuck with Aza and Daisy's table.

Marks said she was a longtime fan of the book, having read it about 20 times since it was released.

"My copy has fallen apart and my dog has eaten the cover," she joked.

"I just really wanted every possible Easter egg from the book that we fit in, but the movie would be eight hours long if we did that, so I think we just wanted to make the necessary changes to make it feel like a film while retaining the spirit that John did so well in the book."

Marks said she felt a deep connection to Aza and her struggles.

"I never read a mental health journey that felt so similar to mine until reading this book," she added.

"As I've gotten older and really grown with the project over the years, because this has been a long time in the making, I'm starting to relate more to Gina, Aza's mom, and to Davis and Daisy," Marks said. "What's so special about this story is that, over time, you can see new perspectives and relate to the other characters, so it's been a special experience for me."

Green said what mattered to him the most was not continuity of plot, but continuity of theme.

"I really wanted the portrayal of OCD and the overall tone of the book to be [about how] to survive somehow, and that's something I worried a lot about, because, historically, Hollywood hasn't always done the best job of depicting mental illness," he added.

"Fortunately, we had Hannah, and Hannah just really cared about the book so much and kept everything that I wanted to keep and more."

Green is also the author of The Fault in Our Stars, Looking For Alaska and Paper Towns.