Reviews

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

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paytontseibert's review against another edition

1.0

Y’all. I couldn’t finish. I could BARELY get through the first few chapters, this was unreadable. If it wasn’t Hank Green it never would have gotten off the ground I’m sorry. The premise is unreadable.

Metal statues start showing up one day, and a New York City artsy type “gets the story of them” out first, and they are a scientific anomoly? They have the influencer on shows to talk about it? As if they would have something to say further than: I found it, and pretended to interview it! I named it Carl!

Y’all - I made it about halfway and it just did not make an ounce of sense. I LOVE Hank green, I really do, but this was hard to read. Life’s too short to read nonsensical stories.

julieekuhn's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

rynglzr85's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

5.0

jaevro's review against another edition

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4.0

A 2023 takeaway from this book is that I can't believe that Hank Green had such a grasp on how the world dealt with the the uncertainty and fear of the COVID-19 pandemic before it happened. He crafts a convincing modern world and its reactions to a borderless, impending issue. The characters are nuanced by youth, fame, and obsession. If you know Hank Green aside from this book, it's easy to read many of the takeaways about being known/fame as a well-lived and informed experience stemming from the author into April's voice. He understands the multifaceted emotional landscape of virality and celebrity more than most of us. I did also learn a thing or two from Hank's more scientific knowledge base. The sci-fi side (which I am less familiar with as a reader) sometimes read as a bit campy/silly in its delivery, but it's also part of the charm Hank is uniquely able to provide.

A side note: it is refreshing to see bisexuality and LGBTQ+ stories portrayed in stories where sexuality is not the main story. While that genre of story is important, normalizing the spectrum of sexuality within different literatures is also important.

emilyb_chicago's review against another edition

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5.0

This fun and easy, first-person book has a unique story while never feeling heavy or overly complex. I sped through as I constantly needed to know what happened next. I’m picking up the next book in the series immediately as this one was left with quite a cliffhanger.