I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

I absolutely love Hank Green! I discovered him recently on TikTok and have been really fascinated about him and of course his writing. This book has been on my shelf for awhile and to be honest I'm not sure why I waited so long to read it I enjoyed this one from beginning to end and hit in all the right feels!

Review of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• April May, the protagonist/heroine of the story, tells what happens from her perspective. She is going about her life when one night, she and her friend Andy discover a giant, statuesque figure that seems to have a life force. The discovery changes their lives forever and catapult them into overnight fame due to their recording of the discovery. They name the figure Carl and they come to find out there’s multiple “Carl’s” across the globe that are identical. With the help of a scientist, blogger and a personal assistant, they are taken on the adventure of a lifetime to determine whether the Carl’s are benevolent or out to harm humanity. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• I really liked this book and the characters. At times the book seemed to go on incessantly about minute details but those details were vital to the plot and creating a sense of empathy towards the protagonist. Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and

My first Hank Green and certainly not the last! Quite a unique story. It was a creative premise and fun to read! Even though who the Carl’s were and what they wanted was solved, I felt like I wasn’t satisfied and was expecting just a bit more I guess. In my honest opinion Maya was the most interesting character. Now on to the second!!

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is a very fitting title for this book. It follows April May, a 23 year old, living in New York City, who is just going through life, barely making ends meet. One middle of the life encounter with what she believes is a new art installation, where her and her best friend Andy Skant make a YouTube video naming the installation Carl, set her life on a crash course through the different levels of fame.

Bringing a futuristic tone, along with sarcasm from the narrator, and a bit of mystery, I didn't want to put this book down. I only give it 4.5 stars because I couldn't believe the ending! I cannot wait to read the sequel. There is so much more I need to know about the Carls and April May! I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.

I was very surprised but An Absolutely Remarkable Thing just wasn't my thing. I ended up putting it down and marking it as a DNF.

I cannot say too much about this book because I do not want to spoil anything. I honestly had no idea what to expect going into this book. I honestly just saw the name Hank Green and I knew I had to read it. Let me tell you, I am so happy that I read this book. Hank Green created a story unlike anything I had read before. He creates complex characters that evolve and a mystery involving the world beyond. I found this book refreshing during my reading slump.

I love this book so much! The sequel is coming very soon and I am so pumped to see what happens next. Hank did a great job of taking a wild and ridiculous concept and fleshing it out into a full warm story. April May is a believable and relatable lady and I hope she is in the next book in some way.

When April May accidentally stumbles upon the discovery of all human existence, her life gets shoved into the spotlight at an alarming rate. Soon she has millions of follower and many haters while also trying to figure out the mystery that made her.
This is not a book about aliens, as you may first believe. It's about sudden fame and how it affects you and those you love. How fame, the internet, and the act of not knowing what is going on in your world can tear you down more than it can lift you up.

I loved the way this book asks "Maybe aliens are real?," which is a question humans have asked for forever, while simultaneously asking how fame (specifically internet fame) can change our lives, which is very current.

Okay, wow. I have so many thoughts. There will be a bit of spoilers in this review.
First off, I didn't know what I was getting into with this book. Had no idea what the plot was and wasn't really sure if I was going to like it. Well, I ended up loving it.
I'm going to put this in a list because I have a lot of things to touch upon that made me love this story.
1. It was SO INTERESTING to see someone come into fame. I loved how the story wasn't really about the Carls at all, but about humanity and how we behave. It was a very complete analysis of fame and what it means to be human. April herself is a great example of this. She was impulsive, selfish, and reckless - but who isn't sometimes? Yes, she did bad things, but she also did good things. Like any other person on Earth, we can't be reduced to just being "good" or "bad," and that idea was really interesting to explore.
2. Along the same idea, I noticed that in some parts April was kinda forced to have an opinion on certain things. Her views were kind of molded by what society pressured onto her. Which is a valid struggle, especially in the world today. If you don't have an opinion, then you're seen as ignorant and uncaring, even if you just don't have all the information. It's just a small detail that I could connect back to real life.
3. I was surprised that nobody was latching onto Andy like they did with April. He was there for the original video too, so I would have thought he would have been invited to talk and shows, too. Maybe that just reflects real life - the person in front of the camera matters more than the person behind it, even though both were needed.
4. The thing I liked the most about this book is that it was so different from anything else I've read. There was a plot, but a loose one, because I NEVER KNEW WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN - and I LOVED that! This story could have gone so many different ways, and I was kept on the edge of my seat the entire time. It had me flipping pages. While reading, I never really expected to have a clear cut answer/explanation to the Carl conundrum, so the ending wasn't really surprising to me. I now know there's a sequel coming out, so now I can't wait to see what happens next!
5. In general, this book just had a different atmosphere. I was compelled to read more, and it never felt like the mystery was solved. And even though it still kind of isn't, I feel a sort of resolution. It's not the sort of book I usually read, but the human analysis was well done and the sci-fi just enough to keep me reading.
In short, thanks, Hank Green. You probably just wrote one of my favorite books of 2020.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

This book was really.... weird. Just the synopsis alone sounds like a crazy ride, but unfortunately it was lost in translation. I feel it really lacks in the execution, though I see it trying to humanize things in an alien invasion. However, what really made it go south was the main character, April, she was SO annoying and VERY unlikable. It's really hard to continue to read a (very unnecessarily) long book when the main character just flat out sucks. Overall, the premise cool and surprisingly different for what it was. As far as reading a sequel.... I don't know.

This was a wild wils ride. The story was a trip. The main character was utterly annoying. Could not ever connect with her. I wonder if anyone could. Loved everything else about April.

This is one of my new favorite books. I love alien invasion stories, but this one was different than what I'm used to. It's more human than most, and the ending left me eagerly anticipating the sequel. Bravo to Hank Green for writing a YA novel that appeals to adults like me!

3 stars.

The main character is a twat. She’s annoying, selfish and so hard to like. I wish she was easier to like.

This book felt unnecessarily long. I kept thinking “these are some of the longest chapters I’ve ever read.” I would have liked to learn more about certain events (can’t spoil it).

The characters seemed ok (aside from April). I liked Maya, she was smart and confident but let April just constantly mistreat her.

I don’t think I’d read a sequel and don’t think I’d read another book by Hank Green if the main character was female. I honestly think he just didn’t know how to write a female character. The premise of the book was cool, but I think the execution was a little off.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green was captivating. It was incredibly accurate in it's blunt display of internet fame and the toxicity revolved around it. It managed to put into words something we have all witnessed and probably experienced to some degree in this internet age and I trust Hank to be the one telling this story with his large involvement on social media. Aside from this realness, the book was quirky and addicting. April May was a real person, flaws and all, and I found her so relatable as a 24 year old graphic designer myself. Hank put a lot into her, layers and layers, and it paid off so well. Anyone could write a story about an alien invasion and the supernatural, but how will it ever feel believable if the characters do not? Great job Hank! I can't wait for the second one!

I couldn't read this book because the formatting was so wonky. The first 20% of the book was just odd symbols.

Wow!

April May is on her way home from work at 3am when she sees an interesting sculpture that compels her to call her friend Andy to help her make a ridiculous youtube video starring herself and the sculpture she has named Carl. The video goes viral quick and everything in April May's life changes overnight. Come to find out that Carl is actually an alien or some form of alien technology and April has been the one to make first contact.

I was honestly not expecting to love this novel as much as I did. I can enjoy sci-fi as much as the next person, but I RARELY love it. In my opinion there are some beautiful messages in here that I can only hope are seen by the majority of readers because they are important. First off, that we give people power with social media. The "influencers" of the internet need to take that into consideration, but also we as viewers, readers, listeners, etc. need to think about this when we are paying attention to these people as well. Secondly, humanity should be working together as a whole instead of staying divided because of differences. We are more effective as one and more destructive when divided. This hit me in my feelings big time, because it is just so relatable to how our world is currently.

Overall, I loved this book. It made me think a lot about some deeper topics without feeling like a heavy political novel. Well done Hank Green!

4.5 stars - I am not usually interested in anything labeled "sci-fi" yet this book captured me from the very beginning. Sure, it could've been because it featured a graphic designer who found something transformer-like beautiful (which is kind of my life in a nutshell), but it was the fascinating subject-matter that truly hooked me.

At its core, AART is a study of social media influencers / content creators / viral internet sensations and how they utilize their voice. It very clearly highlights the power people feel when they begin seeing their numbers increase on the internet and how it changes them. Our main character let internet fame go to her head and I honestly didn't like her, but I don't think we were meant to. She definitely used her online presence for a positive message but ruined her personal relationships at the same time.

There was also quite a bit of political commentary on today's society within this story as well. Hank Green effortlessly made a statement about the terrorist attacks that occur on a daily basis due to scared people who want to take back power from those who are creating a positive change.

In the end, I loved how so many elements of this story all came together. Hank Green revived the "chosen one" trope in a fresh way that I really appreciated. The only reason this received 4.5 stars was due to such an unsatisfying ending; I seriously NEED the next book in the series immediately!

Such an interesting book! Going into this story, I wasn't sure what to expect but I'm really glad that I went into it blind because it just added to the reading experience. Briefly, it's about a woman first discovering a "transfomer" type of statue thing that's in public located in NY. Her and her friend decide to record themselves in front of it and talk about it like a news reporter. Needless to say, things get crazy from that point on. This book touches on the YouTuber/Social Media Influencer life and the obsessions in our culture for likes and celebrity.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing has comical moments with Sci-fi/Mystery elements to it. Again, I really enjoyed this and glad I was able to get an e-copy on NetGalley for review.

4/5 stars

I have two things I need to share before I dive into this review in too much detail.

1) I really hated April May.
2) I loved everything else about this book.

It's hard to like an unreliable narrator, and ultimately, that is what April is in the entirety of the book. We're stuck experiencing this Epic Thing with her from the start and as the story unfolds... and fame impacts April... she makes some decisions that make her <em>really</em> unlikable. Even when she's trying to explain it's a "character flaw" of hers to behave in certain ways and she has had these issues since she was young -- it doesn't make you go, "Oh, it's her personality!" Well, if it's her personality, she's still a really shitty person.

THAT being said...

This book was absolutely captivating to read. I hope that it's taught in High school -- and, knowing Hank Green -- that may be the intent of this entire book. I don't know if that's true, as I've kept away from reading other reviews or news articles relating to this book as I was in the thick of reading it. There are some major themes here and life lessons wrapped into a sci-fi mystery thriller. It is easily engaging for a YA book.

The pace of the book got me page-flipping at some points as I knew the build-up was there for something EPIC to happen a few pages ahead... and if I had any hopes for changes to be added to a possible sequel (I'm sure there has to be one!) it would be for the author to be able to clean-up some of the back story parts. I certainly didn't need a number of pages on a pet detective foray in April's youth.

The mystery of the Carls is enticing and held me all the way until the end of the book. I wanted to know more about them than anything else in the whole story. I hope we get more information on the Carls in coming books! We have to... don't we?!

I rate this book a 3 out of 5 stars. The 3 is all for the story itself, the themes it presents, and the discussions it can have held around it. I couldn't get behind April at all. But then again, I think that is a point of the book as well.