To be honest, I hated the TFiOS because it was much too pretentious for my taste. I actually despised the metaphors and the characters in that book. So I am very glad that this novel is different.

The characters to me did not feel like 40 year olds as others have depicted. They somewhat felt far more real than all of John Green's other characters ever did. Also, the story wasn't big on the romance which was extremely refreshing.

The ending was somewhat unexpected but I enjoyed it very much. And I can understand why some people, especially readers who loved his other books, would feel kind of let down by the story. But if you distance yourself from his previous works you will probably find yourself enjoying Turtles All the Way Down immensely.