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berodatheelf's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A real page turner that honestly killed me. It was thought-provoking and engaging and filled with juicy nuggets of random information that my brain will forever store. Immediately ordered the next book in the series because I desperately need to know what happens next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Medical content, and Biphobia
chaoticnostalgia's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Positives: The theme and message of the qualities of humanity. The dream sequences and puzzles were so much fun to read about. Seeing people work together to solve problems was heartwarming. I just loved the character of Robin. It was suspenseful and I cared about what happened.
Negatives: The writing style felt young and it was grating at times. The side characters were underdeveloped; I would have loved more chapters from other characters' perspectives! In Ellis's similar book, the government bungles things in a way that is just way more realistic. It was nice but unrealistic to see a completely competent, compassionate president in this situation, but it fit well with the overall themes. I wish there had been more of a relationship between Carl and April (a là Ellis's book again, oops!) I think I may be comparing this to her book too much, but I really did enjoy this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Biphobia, Addiction, and Cursing
Minor: Vomit
skye_madeline_h's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“You can only do so much pretending before you become the thing you’re pretending to be.” Hank Green’s novel, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, is a young adult science fiction story about a young woman called April May and her journey to fame after discovering a mysterious sculpture in New York City. While April is coming back home from work, she notices a gigantic statue that seemingly just appeared there. Being someone who makes sure to appreciate works of art, she calls her friend Andy. They proceed to make a video in front of this sculpture that ends up going viral, causing April to gain quite a bit of attention from news outlets because it turns out the statues are actually all over the globe and nobody knows how they got there. The rest of the book centers on April’s quick jump from popularity to outright celebrity status and the discovery of how these sculptures came to be.
As our first person narrator, April takes us through her journey of fame. loneliness, and addiction, and shows us the dangers of extremism and social media. April wants to know more about these strange statues, but others wonder if they are dangerous for humanity. They also question April’s motives. Is she using these statues for attention, and therefore fame and wealth? Or is April genuinely trying to bring humanity together? Hank Green gives us a very believable female main character, and clearly ties in his own experiences with social media fame. Because of this, his messages of corruption of popularity and power are poignant and thought-provoking. April creates a social media persona to get her message across, but how long can she wear this persona before she becomes it?
I enjoy this book because it has themes of not getting too lost in your work and making sure you stay grounded in reality. Another thing I liked was the writing style, because it is written in such a way that it seems as if April is talking directly to the reader. Along with this, she is very honest about her own qualities, be them good or bad. I also appreciate, as previously stated, that April is a very convincing person, despite being a woman written by a man. And last but not least, I absolutely loved how good the suspense was built up and released, every new thing felt satisfying and exciting. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Biphobia
saricostanzo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Biphobia
amiesce's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Blood, Murder, Addiction, Biphobia, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Xenophobia
singerscientist's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
Moderate: Bullying and Violence
Minor: Death and Biphobia
ell_n's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book does so many things- a look at humanity through a science fiction lens.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Biphobia, Hate crime, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
alli_scales's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Biphobia
arlingtonchamberofgay's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Kidnapping, Biphobia, Outing, and Violence
little_forest's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I've read it three times now. One of my favorite books. It gets stressful at parts, but definitely worth it. Two part series, you don't want to miss the second book. If you like anything Hank Green has ever done, there's a good chance you'll like his books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Outing, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Violence, and Biphobia