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![[By Hank Green ] An Absolutely Remarkable Thing: A Novel by Hank Green](https://assets.thestorygraph.com/assets/placeholder-cover-a3ae92250eb3301e32dc3eabf8d50576c2f047dda89f6ee7cfa9a859cb1fd746.jpg)
4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
This book is pretty good. I would honestly say that this book is really good. This is the kind of book I'm going to have to go back to, and appreciate a the full scope of what I'm reading. This book leaves me with questions, and leaves me wanting a whole lot more. There is a certain floatiness about the book where some details are left to the imagination. This style might turn some people off, but honestly the narrative is very gripping and hard to put down. I think this is the kind of book that will hold up much better when it's planned sequel is released.
April May seems to be a bit of a controversial character among the readership. A lot of the reviews are less than positive about her. She's a very flawed, and a young woman finding her way in the world. I enjoy April as a person, and would like to get to see more of her. It's a sign of a well written fictional person when I can hold complex feelings about her, but want to see more of her.
Hank Green's reflections on fame, and social media addiction are something that read very true, and something worth reflecting on. He has a lot to say, and I think this story is a good way to put it. There is a definitive hope that is very Vlogbrothers-y that are something that I think we could all try to put a little more of in our lives.
April May seems to be a bit of a controversial character among the readership. A lot of the reviews are less than positive about her. She's a very flawed, and a young woman finding her way in the world. I enjoy April as a person, and would like to get to see more of her. It's a sign of a well written fictional person when I can hold complex feelings about her, but want to see more of her.
Hank Green's reflections on fame, and social media addiction are something that read very true, and something worth reflecting on. He has a lot to say, and I think this story is a good way to put it. There is a definitive hope that is very Vlogbrothers-y that are something that I think we could all try to put a little more of in our lives.
You know it's good when the credits start rolling from the audiobook and you say "What the f***?" in your car. Really loudly.
Does it seem like Hank wrote some of this based on his twitter fame? Yeppers. But I don't care.
April May makes youtube history when she discovers a statue she calls Carl in the middle of NYC. Turns out she was the first to make world history, since Carl is one of many Carls dropped in cities worldwide from some alien universe. Lots of messages her about viral posts and social media, but I enjoyed seeing those as I learned more about April May, her friends, family, lovers, and some other civilization.
Does it seem like Hank wrote some of this based on his twitter fame? Yeppers. But I don't care.
April May makes youtube history when she discovers a statue she calls Carl in the middle of NYC. Turns out she was the first to make world history, since Carl is one of many Carls dropped in cities worldwide from some alien universe. Lots of messages her about viral posts and social media, but I enjoyed seeing those as I learned more about April May, her friends, family, lovers, and some other civilization.
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
I am a huge fan of Hank Green's vlogs and educational content. It was very interesting to listen to this audiobook and hear ideas and thoughts that Hank Green has touched on in past video essays, woven into a character-driven narrative. I loved that this story was through the point of view of a "normal" person gaining fame and large value personal brand development, written by someone who also gained a level of fame from internet virality first hand.
I also wondered which people in Green's life might have possibly inspired any of the characters.
This book sat in a mid level score because the writing was a bit hard to get through sometimes. The name 'April May' was repeated quite a lot, and Im not sure I really hear a lot of people's names mentioned so many times in similar sentences. The book was also a very 4chan-meme, internet-lingo, Disney-sarcasm–dialogued book. The main character narrator was not my cup of tea, and I appreciated the tone of a new character when it was time to shortly hear from Andy. A lot of the characters also had very similar ways of speaking--made a bit too obvious by the narrator.
The mystery of the plot was interesting, but I thought the observations about society and fame were the better elements. This would be a good book to read for someone if they ever did experience the virality to fame pipeline.
I also wondered which people in Green's life might have possibly inspired any of the characters.
This book sat in a mid level score because the writing was a bit hard to get through sometimes. The name 'April May' was repeated quite a lot, and Im not sure I really hear a lot of people's names mentioned so many times in similar sentences. The book was also a very 4chan-meme, internet-lingo, Disney-sarcasm–dialogued book. The main character narrator was not my cup of tea, and I appreciated the tone of a new character when it was time to shortly hear from Andy. A lot of the characters also had very similar ways of speaking--made a bit too obvious by the narrator.
The mystery of the plot was interesting, but I thought the observations about society and fame were the better elements. This would be a good book to read for someone if they ever did experience the virality to fame pipeline.
I have been a big fan of John Green and Hank Green throughout most of my life. Vlogbrothers, sci-show, John's novels, and pretty much anything they release online. That being said, this book blew me away. Hank somehow really writes about a bisexual woman with past trauma and commitment problems as if he lived it personally. Don't ask me how, but I feel proud to have my sexuality represented well in this novel. My friends that are BIPOC agree that this book does a very good job of showing specific stories, sexualities, races, and other issues without fetishizing or downplaying them.
This is a book full of life. Love, friendship, betrayal, and the wish to be important. A great look at sci-fi and a good teen/adult fiction novel. I highly recommend it.
This is a book full of life. Love, friendship, betrayal, and the wish to be important. A great look at sci-fi and a good teen/adult fiction novel. I highly recommend it.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really interesting concepts! I had a couple of pain points. The minutiae of fame and show business (meetings, logistics, legal procedure, tweeting, etc) feel like unnecessary speedbumps to an otherwise interesting scifi story. A lot of the humor is extremely dated and reads like a Tumblr post, so it comes across very cringy when reading it in 2025 (the main character uses words like "Crapballs" in narration, ugh, plus personally even using the name "Carl" to refer to the robots grated on me). There is a good bit of mystery that drives the story forward (even if it feels a bit spoon-fed to the reader) and many elements introduced early on become important in unexpected ways later. The main character is really interesting to read, she is flawed and in some ways insufferable, but in a way that is relatable and honest, and Hank Green's insights into humanity and optimism and public perceptions and the ways that narratives are shaped are fascinating as always. This book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger with a lot of questions unresolved, so i will probably read the next one.
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hmmmmmm i’m not a huge fan of twitter in my fiction books but this was alright. it’s very well written and paced, i think the only reason why i didn’t enjoy is more is because the internet freaks me out and watching what feels like someone’s life falling apart in real time feels awful. the premise was cool enough, but i kind of wish we had gotten some more answers at the end (ig that’s what the sequel is for). anyway, not the book for me, but might be someone else’s jam!
I couldn’t engage with it. The premise seemed interesting enough, but I couldn’t connect with the characters at all. I’m also not a fan of when the author tries to be too funny or quirky, and too many modern “things” are mentioned. I also might be in a reading funk as of the tone of me typing this, but I also wouldn’t disregard what I said before this.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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