# A Absolutely Remarkable Thing # Netgally
Truthfully it definitely is not for me, I kept trying to really get into this book, however I couldn't read much of it before I had to put it down to get a break and read something else. I can not say it wasn't written well because it was I can't say anything really negative about the book, because what I did find I certainly count see any negativity. However what I can say with clear conviction is it just was not my style of book at all. However if this is your style people out their, I would say you will probably enjoy this book I can only say its a shame it's just not definitely not a book for me personally.

One of those books that was hard to put down. It's a rollercoaster of a story with the main character, April May, getting caught up in both the puzzle of the Carls and the associated fame. The characters felt real, with real flaws and real issues, but were portrayed sympathetically so even though I was yelling 'don't do that!' I still cared for them. My only issue with the book is that it made me want to read the sequel immediately!

This is a hard book to review as it's not like anything I've read before! I found parts of it absolutely riveting and I loved the idea of the Carls (especially their name!) but there was a little too much left unexplained for my liking. My feelings towards the main character were similarly problematic - sometimes I liked her and sometimes I didn't. The novel raises a lot of interesting ideas about fame and humanity though and April provided a good vehicle through which to explore these, Overall it was a good, thought-provoking read.

I am a huge fan of Hank Green - his science videos are superb - so I was really excited to read this novel.
An intriguing opening, when several strange 'robots/automatons' appear in different cities. The main character, April May, finds one in New York, and her life changes... Sudden fame, disrupted friendships, unexplained happenings all change her life radically. Can anyone explain the origin of these strange beings? Or find out why they have suddenly appeared on earth? Good descriptions of the effects of sudden fame and the power of the internet.
I felt this book would have benefited from harder editing as it did ramble at times. As I don't really read of sci-fi, I can't judge whether it will appeal to sci-fi fans, but, for me, it didn't quite hit the mark. Sorry, Hank (I remain a huge fan of all your science videos - they are brilliant!)

Disclaimer: Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I am so grateful to NetGalley and the Publishers, Orion Publishing Group, for providing me with a copy of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green.

IF YOU CAME ACROSS AN ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE THING
AT 3 A.M. IN NEW YORK CITY . . .
WOULD YOU KEEP WALKING?
OR DO THE ONE THING THAT WOULD CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOREVER?


I would like to thing that if I was randomly walking somewhere and I came across a "absolutely remarkable thing", that I would STOP and just admire it.

So of course pretty much everyone has a John Green book on their shelves, I have heard of Hank Green via his brother and their popular channel Vlogbrothers. So I was really excited to get a copy of Hank Green's debut novel.

I sped through this book and the first thing I really loved was that this is a Young Adult novel where the main character is actually older than seventeen, this was such an incredibly refreshing start to this book. April May is actually twenty three - I am in love with that, plus the fact that this book was such a whirlwind, some times I kind of felt like I didn't know what was happening, with the constant twists and turns.

Despite loving the fact that April May is older than the average YA protagonist, I had a rocky time with her character, I questioned her decisions but they were realistic and understandable at times.

I really enjoyed the idea of First Contact in the 21st Century where social media is a big deal and you see the fall out from both sides, because lets be real. You will always get the people that want to destroy something just because they can, and also the people that see the best in everyone. The characters were good although I did think that a couple of characters could have been developed further since they did have important roles in the book.

The biggest thing that made me to decide to give this book 4 starts though, was the ending. That. Ending. I discuss the ending with several people and we did have different opinions. But I am the type of person who leans towards clear cut endings, like I don't mind small things left to the imagination, but that ending blew a hole in my theories and left me hanging.

I am aware that it has a sequel which I will probably pick up, just so I can finally understand what happened at the end of this book.

However, overall I found this book to be completely different to John Green's works, but in a really really good way. It is a very fast paced novel but it has a really interesting plot and the characters are interesting. So it was really entertaining and perfect to read on holiday when I could devote all my attention on this book.

I loved this book! It was well written, with a clever story that certainly has legs...

April May is telling her story of an Internet sensation she started that gets out of hand. We all know of viral stories, but this shows the downside to it. I won't say more, you'll have to read it!

I hope there's more to come and if there is I'm definitely pre-ordering it! 5 stars from me.

Hank Green’s novel An Absolutely Remarkable Thing has a fun premise that grabbed me from the start – April May, walking home in the wee hours of the morning from her unsatisfying yet intense start-up job, happens upon what she initially thinks is an art installation, but she quickly realizes is something alien. With the help of her pal Andy, she manages to parlay this initial encounter into world-wide fame and a career as a social media influencer / pundit. I found April fundamentally unlikeable and wasn’t convinced that she’d be able to gain such global celebrity just based on the force of her personality – in contrast, the supporting characters, such as Maya and Miranda and Andy, were much more appealing and interesting and I would have liked to spend more time with them. Throughout the novel, Green explore issues such as celebrity, influencer culture, punditry, xenophobia and divisive politics, though this exploration usually comes in the form of exposition by April and can often feel rather heavy-handed. Nevertheless, this is a fun and quick read that kept me turning the pages. I would recommend this for readers who like stories set in what is recognizably our modern world, but with science fiction elements, and who don’t mind endings that aren’t tied up neatly with a bow.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2889060258

I was intrigued when I saw this on Netgalley. I've read some John Green and enjoyed it, I am aware of Nerdfighters but never watched any of the vlogs, and the blurb was really, really interesting. Turns out, so was the book. This is a rather nicely done story about the social age we live in, smashed up with what I'm going to call 'urban sci-fi'. The combination is like nothing I've ever read before, and it had me completely hooked. The characters, the story, the writing style, all suited me perfectly and as such I could not put this book down. I defiantly read it through a migraine, which was probably a silly thing to do but also testament to how drawn in I was. I find this social-media-obsessed age scary and worrying, and this book both highlighted everything that's wrong with it, while reassuring me that there are some sensible young people still out there. It's somehow both realistic and whimsical at once, as well as uplifting and devastating. It's a twisty, mish-mash of a thing that is kind of wonderful. I see that it is listed as Book 1, and I really hope there are more to come.

I'm rarely lost for words but I can genuinely say I am a little bit stumped about what to say about his book. Even summarising it is hard - it is narrated by April May who finds herself catapulted to fame after coming across a "statue" in the middle of the night. That statue, Carl, turns about to be so much more with huge consequences.

I had no idea what to expect, and initially couldn't help thinking I wasn't the target audience and that I was going to hate it. But somewhat to my surprise I got quite caught in it and began enjoying it much more than I though I would - as someone who grew up before the world of social media, it provided some interesting reflections on identity, social media and the quest for fame - though I did feel it for me it did begin to drag by the end and it is probably a little too much science fictiony to be truly to my taste. Didn't love the ending - believe it is lining up for a sequel, though I for one probably won't be reading it, as I think one book in this vein is enough for me.

I'm only aware of Hank Green because of his brother, John, and I have never watched any of their videos. However I can imagine a lot of what is in this book is based on their own experiences of internet fame. I was pleasantly surprised by An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, it's much more about fame than aliens.

April May's working an entry level job at a New York design firm when she discovers Carl. She's trying to keep connected to the creative life she wants, and being in New York feels like she is, even if she's struggling with low pay and long hours. She's not quite prepared for the whirlwind ahead and the strain it'll put on her relationships.

She maybe didn't start out seeking fame, but she craves the attention it gives her. She must be involved, guiding where the story about the Carls go. A puzzle inside an Wikipedia article, leads them to a whole world of puzzle that must be solved, hopefully to reveal the meaning of the Carls. April May is sure this is a sign that they want to be able to see if humans across the world can work together towards a common goal. However others believe they are not to be trusted.

The resulting online atmosphere is not unfamiliar, with polarising opinions getting out of hand and people crossing lines. April May has to deal with the online hate, but also the pressure to be ahead of the curve, to have new material all the time.

I just noticed there is a sequel planned. I'm not sure how I feel about that, as I like the briefness of the ending, but I enjoyed it enough that I'll probably end up reading it.

3.5 stars but I rounded it up. Not usually into science fiction-ish books but I found this enjoyable. Full review to come.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this so much. Fast paced, and a page turner from the very beginning, I found this impossible to put down. Combining the mystery of the Carls with April’s ascent through the tiers of ‘fame’, it’s a fantastic read, and one that I can’t recommend enough.

Highly enjoyable - a read I approached not knowing what to expect, but I’m delighted I gave it a go. A brilliant, strange, captivating read.

A Pretty Remarkable Story

There are times when you pick up a book or start watching a film and you just know where it is going or how it will end.
This is not that book (or film).
Amy and Andy become involved in something way bigger than anything they have experienced before. Way bigger than the world has experienced before.
Sadly the reactions of others are only too predictable in these broken times. People with opposing views are seen as something to hate, threaten, kill.
Hank Green has produced an excellent novel and I can only hope that the ending leaves scope for a sequel.
This book was provided as a review copy by the publisher in return for an honest opinion.
Note :
This book was reviewed on Amazon on 6 July 2019

enjoyed this book though not sure I'm the target audience! Loved the focus on social media and what a role it plays in our lives..enjoyable and realistic characters althoug the tale is quite unrealistic...or is it?!

April is on her way home late one night when she comes across An Absolutely Remarkable Thing - a huge armoured statue, which she assumes is a piece of art. She calls her friend Andy and they film a short YouTube video about it, naming the statue Carl - only to discover the following day that there are 60 Carls all over the world and that they have become a media sensation. April, with the support of her friends, becomes the spokesperson for the Carls, but strange things continue to happen, including a viral Dream with puzzles, and it's clear that something much bigger is going on. But can April cope with the pressures of fame?

April is a smart narrator, she knows how social media works and is mostly savvy in using it, but she also has her flaws - which she is good at recognising, if not acting on. The play out of the Carls on social media and viral internet debates is believable too, whilst it's a fantasy it's clearly rooted in how the world works. And the ending!

Actually, a surprisingly engrossing read. I figured early on I would grow to find narrator April an irritant, but in fact was only irritated by those elements Green intended his reader to find unpalatable and genuinely really enjoyed her. At times the book does meander too slowly in order to pose heavy handed questions about the nature of fame/ social media/ citizen responsibility etc but generally the story is compelling enough to carry you through. It’s probably a 3.5 but bumping it up because it was fun.

I had no idea what to expect from An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green and wasn’t entirely sure why I was even reading it at first. I ended up racing through it and marvelling at the frankly astonishing chain of events. Massive armoured figures suddenly appearing on sidewalks across the globe and the groundswell of opinion, either strongly defensive or equally, and dangerously, offensive that the Carls, as they become named, evoke. The story’s chief protagonist April May becomes the spokesperson for the Carls, mostly via social media and then across a myriad of TV channels. As events unfold she delves deeper and deeper into dangerous territory as she and her friends/co-workers try to unravel just why the Carls have appeared and what it is that they want. This book is so refreshingly different from anything else I’ve read and I absolutely loved it - and that ending too. Thanks to Orion Publishing for the e-book.

Returning to her place of work for something she has forgotten, April passes a striking statue of a robot that she has never seen before. Briefly registering 'wow' she strides on. But then she stops. She considers: yes, she is a New Yorker now, and New Yorkers are so used to the new and exciting that it barely registers; but she is also an artist, and just to walk on by is a betrayal of her core self.
Her decision to return, to look properly, and to blog about this incredible sculpture that has appeared in the street, changes everything. For the whole world. For ever.
I really enjoyed this book. April's voice is convincing, and her honesty is appealling. The depiction of a life deluged by social media interest feels real (and not a little scary), and it achieved what for me is the essential job of a novel - it left me with vivid pictures, and a sense that I had acquired some new aquaintances.
I was a little bit disappointed with the ending, which for me doesn't quite live up to that great opening, but overall a fun and thoughtful read.
I will be buying it for the school Library, and recommending it to my older students.

Okay, Hank Green wasn't messing around. He clearly meant it when he said he'd been researching for the book for years.

This book is a very modern, very contemporary combination of The Story of Your Life, Ready Player One, and a bunch of other works that I can't remember the names of. Yes, it's science fiction, and yes you can actually get a lot of the deep stuff from this. But it's also so uniquely weird and light-hearted with an obnoxiously self-centered narrator at the center of it.

And I have to admit, I'm very similar to April May, sometimes it feels frighteningly so. I happen to be a 23-year-old just like her. I also hate on the internet fame thing as she did at the beginning of the story, basically pretending I don't care about that when I actually would like to try it for myself given the chance.

The voice gets on my nerves at times, and so does April May. But the tone of it is what keeps it from being an overly pretentious wannabe hard-core science fiction book. This book mocks itself the way the narrator criticizes her own foolish choices, and the self-awareness makes it unique.

There are a lot of plot points/views that made me think twice about stuff I've always been sure of and never really questioned. I think that's a sign that there are some relevant things in the book.

Overall, I would say it's a pleasant and informative read. I'm kind of anxious over the fact that we would have to wait at least a year to get the sequel. Also, how China is presented in the story is not looking good, and I'm afraid it's gonna hurt the book's chances of getting published in Chinese. I would agonize over that if that happens.