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A review by themermaddie
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green
5.0
WHAT A BOOK
this book just makes me excited. everything about it is addictive and gut wrenching and utterly consumable, i read the entire thing in one sitting. it's incredibly quick paced and so easy to just tear through, i had to force myself to slow down to enjoy it but i just wanted to know what happened next!!
i love april's narration. she's smart, manipulative, calculating, lonely, and just earnest enough to pull the whole thing off. the style of being narrated the story from the future means that you can assume there will be some self-editing, but to her credit, april's raw honesty with even the worst parts of herself is refreshing and speaks more to the truth of her account than anything. it never gets too self pitying or melodramatic, and her nervous ticks and behaviours feel very realistic for the way an influencer in their early twenties would behave. she's insecure and makes bad decisions, she recognises when she's being self destructive and does it anyway, she's a bad friend and she knows it, and the honesty of her account is so nice to read. she's still likable, as are the entire cast of characters. i love them all so much.
i didn't expect this book to have so much social commentary on the nature of fame, but i think i probably should have, considering its author. april struggles with self-aggrandising thoughts in the wake of her fame, as well as allowing herself to be swept up by the tidal wave of money and attention to the detriment of her personal relationships. she baldly admits to being an addict, using the validation of external fame to fill the emptiness in her own life in a way that encapsulates the early twenties what-am-i-doing-with-my-life panic. i absolutely loved watching april struggle with her internal and external self, i think it's relatable to people at any tier of april's fame hierarchy and has a great message about the parasocial way we interact with internet creators; our relationships with online influencers not only shape the way we interact with the world but also affect the person they are when they're not busy being a brand™ in a way that 'regular people' will simply never understand without the lived experience.
anyway i'm off the start the second book even though it's 5 am because mr hank green simply WONT LET ME SLEEP
this book just makes me excited. everything about it is addictive and gut wrenching and utterly consumable, i read the entire thing in one sitting. it's incredibly quick paced and so easy to just tear through, i had to force myself to slow down to enjoy it but i just wanted to know what happened next!!
i love april's narration. she's smart, manipulative, calculating, lonely, and just earnest enough to pull the whole thing off. the style of being narrated the story from the future means that you can assume there will be some self-editing, but to her credit, april's raw honesty with even the worst parts of herself is refreshing and speaks more to the truth of her account than anything. it never gets too self pitying or melodramatic, and her nervous ticks and behaviours feel very realistic for the way an influencer in their early twenties would behave. she's insecure and makes bad decisions, she recognises when she's being self destructive and does it anyway, she's a bad friend and she knows it, and the honesty of her account is so nice to read. she's still likable, as are the entire cast of characters. i love them all so much.
i didn't expect this book to have so much social commentary on the nature of fame, but i think i probably should have, considering its author. april struggles with self-aggrandising thoughts in the wake of her fame, as well as allowing herself to be swept up by the tidal wave of money and attention to the detriment of her personal relationships. she baldly admits to being an addict, using the validation of external fame to fill the emptiness in her own life in a way that encapsulates the early twenties what-am-i-doing-with-my-life panic. i absolutely loved watching april struggle with her internal and external self, i think it's relatable to people at any tier of april's fame hierarchy and has a great message about the parasocial way we interact with internet creators; our relationships with online influencers not only shape the way we interact with the world but also affect the person they are when they're not busy being a brand™ in a way that 'regular people' will simply never understand without the lived experience.
anyway i'm off the start the second book even though it's 5 am because mr hank green simply WONT LET ME SLEEP