John Green Was Dubious a ‘Turtles All the Way Down’ Movie Could Work, Then He Met Hannah Marks

Best-selling author John Green wasn’t sure that one of his most personal novels, “Turtles All the Way Down,” could be accurately transferred from page to screen — especially in a way that would represent anxiety and OCD well.

The book, released in 2017 after Green’s rocket to fame following books (and adaptations) “The Fault in Our Stars” and “Paper Towns,” follows a character named Aza (Isabella Merced) who struggles with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), which manifests in spirals that take her out of the present.

“The experience is so internal. It’s so nonvisual,” Green told TheWrap. “It’s so much about abstractions that occur way down within the confines of the individual self.