I beginning-loved this book. But it beginning-tricked me.
I went from addicted, 'just one more page' reading sessions to thinking 'who is this person and do I really care.' I wanted moar robots but got pages upon pages about internet fame instead.
A third of the way through I forgot the main characters name, even though she's called April May. Maybe that's why I forgot it? Was it my brain rebelling? Her name put me off in the same way I abandoned (500) Days of Summer halfway through, despite everyone saying I'd love it. Too artificial-cutesy-whimsical. I can enjoy cutesy, but it needs to earn its place.
I think I was supposed to forgive April May some of her failings because she was 'Quirky,' but really I needed her to be strong enough a character for me to forgive her quirkiness.
I don't think it's a bad book, and when I checked the blurb it did say it's a book about
"how the social internet is changing fame and radicalisation; how our culture deals with fear and uncertainty; and how vilification and adoration can follow a life in the public eye."
I enjoyed some of the riffs about marketing, and I liked that the characters were older than most YA casts (post-college, first job, still uncertain about money & love).
But the pacing was patchy, the theme over-wrought, and getting to the end was a slog. I understand why other people like it, but I was relieved to move on to my next read and I won't be back for the sequel.
Setting:
The New York of action movies, all bustling sidewalks and apartments too tiny to sneeze in. A city so full of wonder and activity that when a giant robot appears on a street one night, no one cares. Apart from April May...
Favourite character:
Miranda, the scientist.  I recognised my own science-y friends  in how enthusiastic & unstoppably-inspired she gets. My BFF's eyes light up when she talks about genes & she loses track of time, the same way Miranda gets excited about the strange, giant figures in NY.
What can I learn as a writer?
There are lots of writing books and classes who warn novelists not to mislead the reader about what kind of book they are getting.Holly Lisle talks about Promises in her writing classes, Les Edgerton's Hooked is a book all about controlling what you're signalling with your first chapter, and my writing lecturer swore by Nancy Kress' Beginnings, Middles and Ends.I
'm not saying Hank Green personally wanted to trick me, but a couple of tweaks to the start of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing could have re-framed my expectations in time for me to like it more.
File with
Not Transformers ;-)

What is on the surface a mystery involving alien invasion is also a brilliant study on modern life and the effects of social media, as well as our modern day 'celebrity culture'.
Following a young woman's late night discovery a whole other world opens up for her.
Although the book is generally a slow burn the characters really made this story a wonder. They were all incredibly real and fleshed out all with frustrating flaws and beautiful friendships.
A great read for both teens and adults.

As the title would suggest, this book is mega pretentious. The main character is called April May. Let that sink in. The pages fly by though, if you tune out and skim read whenever the self-insert main character starts waffling on about art or fame or science. I really feel the whole 'naming the statue Carl because RANDOM' thing is going to end up summing this book up for me though, in my mind.

It was simultaneously very relatable and utterly cringey. I think I would believe this book more if it was a teenage protagonist but this woman is supposed to be 23. That's far beyond the age you should be so unbelievably full of yourself and also insecure to the point of wrecking every romantic relationship you have, whilst additionally thinking it's hilarious and original to give things the first name that pops into your head. And don't get me started on all the self-indulgent navel-gazing that no one who is officially an adult should be doing. I suppose that must be some people's lives though? I personally can't relate to that.

I liked Maya, the girlfriend, a lot, but the main character is unbearably pretentious and cocky and big headed and just about every other word that means 'a shitty person'. Yet it wasn't a deal-breaker because the plot was interesting. I love that we have casual LGBT and WOC inclusion though, from an author who easily could have not done that, being a straight (as far as I know) white man.

Why was the protagonist so knowledgeable on (granted, ancient) memes, and yet has apparently never seen a TV news show? Even, like, ones on fail video compilations? And she has no idea who any late night talk show hosts are? Absolute hipster bull. You would literally have to actively block these things for them to not be in your peripheral knowledge, and to block them you'd have to know their names first.

The biphobia and exploration into bi-erasure impressed me. It's true that a celebrity would be told by their agent to pick gay or lesbian in order to be less confusing to the general public. This is very realistic, and I'm impressed at the author for including it, even though it was a relatively small moment.

The pacing is decent - the story is usually introducing the next plot point or the last plot point is usually interesting enough or still being processed so that was very good.

Some ancient history memes that unfortunately gave Hank Green away as being old and outdated (if we'd referenced that they were old memes, I'd have let him get away with it, but we brought them up like they were in any way current):
- Step 3: ???? Step 4: Profit.
- Giorgio A. Tsoukalos "ALIENS" GIF reference.
- 'Hide your kids, hide your wives!'.

Full review posted: https://kirstysbookblog.wordpress.com

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've spent the last few weeks thinking about how I was going to review this book. At first I listened to the audiobook which was a huge mistake because I couldn't take to the narrator and therefore I didn't enjoy the story as much as I wanted to (even though I listened to the whole thing) and then I seen Netgalley had it up for requesting so I went ahead and requested it and got approved a few days later. I'm actually so glad I did because it meant I had to give the book another chance and oh boy, I'm so happy I got to do this.

April May is such a great character. At times I hated her for being selfish but the majority of the time she was just a young adult trying her best to work around a situation she didn't realise she'd be in. I thought Hank Green did a brilliant job of making the characters in this story realistic and believable. He showed the power of social media and the audience/issues certain things can attract. As mentioned at the start of this paragraph, I disliked how selfish April could be. For example, the way she treated Maya really got to me. At times it was as if everything else became more important than her and she was shoved to the side and it really hurt my heart because I was desperate for more of them throughout the book. 

The ending left me so needing more. It was so unexpected and there was not a single point in the book that I could see it happening. I could definitely use some more Andy in my life because he was such a lovable, caring character and I feel there was a definite lack of him in the book so I have high hopes for book two,

In all, Hank Green created a very humorous, dark but exciting story and I'm so glad I decided to give this book a second chance after being disappointed with the audiobook. Once I got into the story I struggled to put the book down and Green managed to keep me intrigued throughout the whole novel. I can't wait to see what Green has in store for us in book two! 

Thank you again to Netgalley and Trapeze for providing me with a review copy of this book.

Didn't want to love this but was honestly blown away by how great it is. The story sucks you in from the start and doesn't let you go. I need a sequel immediately.

you know, I DID kinda like this. But then I also kinda didn't? You know what I mean? April is a horrible character, I didn't like her, I thought she was vapid, and self-serving. But what is new in our socially-aware world? To get up at x o'clock just to make an Insta video seems normal these days, and yet, if you think about it, it's so wrong.
So Hank Green is doing a sterling job here of exposing the sheer idiocy of social media today, and I applaud him for it.
As a story, it lost itself a bit towards the end, but if there is a sequel it might pick up again. Who knows? I'll be reading it if there is a follow-on and hope for the best.

This book was excellent!
I am super satisfied with every aspect of the story, the only thin that confused me slightly was how it changed tenses alot.
Wasnt a huge fan of the ending but an overall good novel 3/5 stars

I have been a fan of the Vlogbrothers for around ten years and love John Green’s novels so I was excited to pick up Hank’s debut.

All I can say is “I NEED A SEQUEL!”. I adore this book. April May frustrated me to no end throughout the novel but I loved that about her. She made the decisions that I think a lot of people in their early twenties would in this situation. She is flawed, as are the side-characters, but it made them all the more realistic.

This did not feel like a debut novel and this may be a small thing for some people but one of the first things that showed me that this would be a great book was the fact that the author didn’t shy away from fully immersing the story in the internet age. It wasn’t futuristic and it wasn’t outdated. It was set nowadays and the technology was dealt with appropriately.

I don’t know what to say. I loved this and would highly recommend it. If you normally read contemporary fiction, I think this is a good way into science fiction, and if you usually read science fiction, this would be a great way to broaden your horizons. A wonderful read!

I wasn't sure what to think when I started reading this book. April May discovers these Transformer statues that she names Carl. It turns out that she was the one that discovered them and it leads to chaos all around. She wants to be the first to lead the charge to prove they are aliens and there are those that have beliefs that are different from hers out to prove her wrong. Is she the chosen one, or is she just a going through some remarkable things? I really thought this book was quite interesting and would definitely like to read more from this author. This was truly a unique work. Thanks for the ARC, Net Galley.

I received an ARC of this book from netgalley for my honest review.
This book is not a normal genre for me. The other worldly side of this book was just ok for me. The characters were unlikable for me- I didn’t feel like i was rooting for them.

I feel a little bit sorry for Hank Green when it comes to his writing career, kind of, because I can't help but feel he's going to be stuck for a while, lost in the shadow of his brother. Certainly, the buzz surrounding his debut novel An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, published in September, was largely oh my God John Green's brother wrote a book - I will readily admit that a large part of why I wanted to read this book was John.




It seems to be uncool to like John Green's books right now, but I've never been cool and I don't mind telling you that TFiOS holds a special place in my heart and that I thought Turtles All the Way Down was excellent but I'm not here to talk about that. Or about how Hank is John Green's brother (which you knew because a: I said it once already and b: you've seen the vlogbrothers videos anyway), I'm here to talk about Hank's book, which I read and which I want to try to review as a book in and of itself and without comparing it to the work of the already bestselling other sibling.

Which I suspected may be difficult as soon as I saw the main character was called April May because (I found myself thinking against my own will) that's a John Green character name if ever there was one.

Anyhow.

Let's get to the point.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is not, alas, an absolutely remarkable thing, but it is a pretty good book. I didn't love it but I also didn't hate it and I did find myself reaching for it whenever I sat down for five minutes which is A Good Thing.

The deal is this. At 3am one morning 23 year old April May comes across a massive statue that has just appeared in New York City. She calls her best friend, they make a YouTube video and go to sleep. The video goes viral and by the time April wakes up the next morning her life has changed. These same statues - they become known as Carls - have appeared all over the world and as the person who first saw the first one, April finds herself the poster girl for the whole bizarre scenario,

The premise is good and really interesting and it's a little bit sci-fi which is always a tick in The Plus Box from me and somehow even though it isn't especially fast-paced or exciting, I found myself utterly engrossed. I'm not sure what that's about actually, because when I finished I was mostly annoyed; whilst reading I was pretty annoyed and yet still, somehow, I couldn't stop reading it.
I think it's the social commentary. I do love that in a book. And here, snuggled in alongside this story of a girl who accidentally made first contact with an alien is a sharp and unsettling look at the social media age. It's a sharp reminder that the internet isn't real - something I think to myself quite often when I open my instagram and was a contributing factor to the reason I removed myself from Facebook a couple of years back - that it is actually scarily easily to perpetuate a not entirely accurate version of self to the masses (let's be real here, we all only ever show a fraction of who we are in our online presence. My instagram doesn't show my anxiety or my insecurities or my dilapidated office or my not so 'insta-worthy' home or the way last night I posted a photo of the book I was starting and then not five minutes later was curled in a ball of period pain, almost in tears on the phone to my boyfriend) and the way Green portrays this, via April who didn't even know what Twitter was before she found herself Internet Famous is so sharp and insightful. He's internet famous himself, our author and you can't help but wonder how much of this book comes from personal experience, whether at some point he's had a sudden flash of enlightenment, found himself living his life for how it looks online rather than just actually living it and as such this book became a brain dump for all of that.

Or perhaps he hasn't. Perhaps he's just really astute. I don't know. I just know that I was totally there for that aspect of the book.

And that's what makes the rest of it so sad.

The problem, pals, is this: I don't like April May. She's just....she's a dick. I didn't care about her because I didn't like her. Even when her agent tries to force her to label herself as gay because its easier to sell than bisexual, my hackles weren't really up, because I just couldn't find a way to care about this girl I didn't like. She's just....she's not nice to people. Her relationship with her girlfriend Maya is just toxic and made me really mad and she's pretty shitty to everyone else around her also and I just, I didn't like her. Manic Pixie Dream Girl Chosen One can just do one, actually, here because she's horrible.

Also the meshing of the whole Carl story (which had so much potential) and the fame story.....it didn't quite hit the mark. Perhaps the two threads were too different to be woven together, I don't know, I just know that something was a little bit off and that actually it all got really really repetitive. Which was a shame.

And the ending was super annoying - unless there's going to be a sequel in which case the ending was only regular annoying. It's quite a pretentious preachy ending to a book, and I don't need that especially when it comes seemingly from nowhere. I'm all for the moral of the story, and I totally agree with the basic message but the last couple of chapters of this book felt like they were ramming that message down my throat in a mad panic and it really bugged me. Too much moral, Hank, too much moral.

It was fun though, and I liked it, and I tore through it and if (when?) WHEN Hank Green writes another book I shall read it. I just hope it's less preachy and has a main character I don't want to nip in the face.

What would you do if at 3am, when walking through New York City you come across a giant sculpture, who looks like a transformer? Keep walking, take a photo, make a video? April May chooses the latter and calls her friend Andy instantly to help her film there and then. This decision is one that changes her life forever after the video they upload of Carl, as she decides to name the sculpture, goes viral! However, not all is as it first seems. There isn't just one 'Carl'; at the same time across the world Carl has appeared in many other cities. This incredible debut novel takes us on a journey of discovery not only in respect of April as she deals with her newly acquired fame but also in discovering what the Carl's want from the world and more specifically, from April.

I really loved the fast pace of this story and April was such an incredible character! I am so glad the story was told in first person from her perspective. I really felt like I got to know her and to sympathise when some of the decisions she made affected those closest to her. It really makes you stop to think and remember just how much power social media can have in making someone change the way they view themselves and their purpose in life. This book also cleverly focuses on how a culture of fear can lead people to behave in ways they might not otherwise choose to!

I also loved the mystery surrounding the Carls and how this was portrayed. I enjoyed picturing myself in New York at this time and imagining what feelings I would have had about New York Carl. The dream that becomes an important element within the story is also really clever!

This is a book I would definitely recommend and with an ending that just leaves you wanting more I think Hank Green has done an incredible job! I can't wait to see what he writes in the future!

As a big fan of his Brother John Green I was immediately intriqued when I found out that Hank was publishing his first novel. Once I read the synopsis I immediately knew that I needed to read the story of April May and the curious tale of the Carls. And let me just say that it did not dissapoint whatsoever.
"An Absoluetly Remarkable Thing" was super unique and unlike anything I have ever read. The way that fame had such a big impact on the main character was eye opening and honestly scary. The story took so many unecpected turns and at sometimes it reminded me of Ready Player One. I did really like the characters and found myself sympathising with them but sometimes I didn't agree with their actions. And what can I say about the ending other than mind blowing? the way the narrative changed as well as the PoV was heartbreaking and had me on the edge of my seet. My only complaint was the writing. At some points it was very deep, thought provoking and qouteable but at other parts it was childish and kinda took me out of the story. But other than that I absoluetly adored this book and do not know how I'll wait for the next book after this cliffhanger.

This book is amazing, and I'm so glad that there's a sequel on the way as I just didn't want the story to end. Never thought I'd read a story about robots but this was done in a really great way through a brilliant character narrative. The characters were app interesting and each in their own ways but all great together. I couldn't put the book down and read it so quickly because the story has so much to it that you've got to keep reading. Can't wait to read more from Hank Green!

I absolutely loved this and read it in 3 days. It was really gripping, with a nice balance of science fiction, cultural references, and human interaction. I can't wait for the sequel.

Sadly this book is not for me. I felt the story was weak and I really struggled to connect with the characters.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Orion Publishing for my eARC of this book in exchange for my honest unbiased review

3.5 stars

“Just because someone has power over you doesn’t mean they’re going to use it to hurt you. People who believe that tend to either be: People who have been victims of that sort of behaviour, or people who, if given power, will use it to hurt you.”

Introducing Carl, a giant 10ft tall sculpture wearing a suit of samurai amor. Several Carls have suddenly appeared around the world. April May discovered her local Carl on her way home from work at 3am, she immediately alerts her best friend Andy who films Youtube videos and they upload one to his channel. Unbeknown to both, the video is an international sensation over night, giving them both a new found fame and a new life. However Carl isn’t just a giant sculpture. Follow April May in her quest to deal with her new found fame whilst also trying to discover what the Carl’s are and what they want from the human race.

I was lucky enough to be given a copy of this book from Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group. I have been toying with my review throughout reading this book. At some points it was a solid 5 stars however some parts were a bit slow and seemed pointless which is why the rating was lowered. I enjoyed the writing style and the idea was so unique. It did make me laugh throughout and I really did enjoy reading it. I did however really struggle to get on with the characters, especially April May. Were we not meant to like her? Because she really wasn’t a loveable character that I could personally relate to. I do feel this also made me bring down the rating slightly. On the whole, I did enjoy reading this book and for a debut novel it was thoroughly enjoyable. I would recommend that you read this book. I will be picking up his one.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is a novel about fame, fear, and the viral power of the internet, with a central out-of-this-world mystery. April finds a giant statue on the streets of New York City in the middle of the night, something that looks like a bit like a Transformer which she calls 'Carl'. She calls her best friend Andy and together they make a video about it and put it on YouTube. And then, suddenly, April is famous, the first person to approach one of the statues that sprung up around the world. She's in the media spotlight and she has to work out how she's going to play the situation and who she's going to be, and what or who the Carls are.

The book has an engaging narrative in many ways, as what could be about the mysterious statues turns out to be a lot more about the effect their appearance has on people and how being in the public eye is a dangerous thing. April is an openly flawed narrator, who loves the attention she suddenly gets and isn't good at dealing with personal relationships. The narrative voice is a bit uneven, as it is told retrospectively so April can highlight where she didn't make the right choice, but this doesn't always feel like it works. The writing style is a bit clunky too, and some of the dialogue a bit forced. Once used to this, however, it is easier to be intrigued by the plot and by the central characters.

This is a clever novel, in that it could just be about trying to solve the mystery of the Carls but is more predominantly about being in the public eye and how easily the internet can facilitate both community and hate. However, it doesn't quite live up to what it is trying to do.

"I was really, deeply, honestly, and truly infatuated with having people pay attention to me."

I feel like at the start of every book I'm reading, I get the gist on whether I'm going to like it or dislike it. At the start of this book, I expected to like it, the writing was engaging and the main character was a magnetically diverse heroine, but I did not expect to love it as much as I did.

Hank Green's writing had the familiar insightfulness of his brother's, John Green, but whereas John Green's excellence lies at sculpting an epic love story, Hank Green creates an awe-inspiring anti-love story - not a story of hate, exactly, but a story of humanity at it's best, and ultimately at it's worst.

Hank Green dissimilate's the "person behind the keyboard", for his main character. Everybody's social media persona is a compound of each individual's most favourable attributes; nobody wants to follow the person who cries themselves to sleep at night, who doesn't make enough money to afford a camera that isn't blurry, or who doesn't have enough hours in the day to keep their house religiously clean. We, yes we, all prefer to follow people who live materialistic, happy, powerful lives.

Nobody cares what you have to say anymore unless you have enough followers to hear it.

Hank Green creates that very person everybody follows on social media, that person who has seemingly omnipotent influence, puts all those components into a relatively attractive character with enviable self confidence and frustrating impulsiveness, and subjects her - and the reader - to what it's really like to have an expansive audience. There are all the best bits of having strangers love your more favourable characteristics; the flattery, the subjective adoration, the widespread attention and awareness to what you have to say. And there are the bad bits. The harsh judgements, the condescending comments, and mainly the observation from the thoroughly pedantic; the ones who jump on each spelling mistake in a tweet, each imperfect picture. Hank Green shows us the person on the receiving end of that kind of international fame. And reminds us that that person is only human.

In this digital age, this is a particularly relevant theme to have in a novel, and I found that Hank Green writes this theme into his story in an incredibly authentic way, implementing a main character with some dislikable qualities, who has been previously oblivious to controversy except for when attacked and questioned about her sexuality, that I'm finding it quite difficult to file away this character into the 'fictional' drawer of my brain. April May feels so real and alive. And if there is anybody who I wouldn't doubt could bring a story so blatantly made up to life, it would be one of the Green brothers. Their pool of talent is bottomless and abundantly unfair to the rest of us who would love to have a sip of their skill.

This is such an enigmatic, engaging, slightly whacky read. I would recommend to all fictional readers around the globe to pick up this book, not research it or the plot beforehand, and dive in with an open mind and a humane heart.
"If you get anything out of this, ideally it won't be you being more or less on one side or the other, but simply understanding that I am (or at least was) human."

And want to know something that makes my smile spread and my heart beat happily? THERE'S GOING TO BE A SEQUEL!

This is Hank Greens debut novel and is about a young girl that is thrust into the spotlight after she finds an alien in the middle of New York City.
In terms of premise this is quite an original one in that it looks at how a sudden increase in popularity can affect someone in this day and age and the impact social media has on it. Social media has in recent years been known to turn "ordinary" people into house hold names almost over night so it was interesting to have a story based around that from someone who has such a large following on social media.
An absolutely remarkable thing was definitely quite formulaic in terms of plot and character development which didn't make for the most exciting read but did give an appearance of familiarity to it.

I went in thinking it would be an adult novel but it definitely reads more YA so that took some getting used to but overall this was not a bad read.

Was this an excellent book? No. Was it a load of fun to read though? absolutely