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rmkanderson 's review for:
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
by Hank Green
April May, a bisexual university-educated graphic artist who is in a relationship with a woman, discovers what she thinks is a work of art on the streets of Manhattan one very early morning on her way home from work. On a whim, she and her best friend make a YouTube video about it that launches them both into the world of YouTube superstardom. Together with a small group of her friends, they solve the mystery of the alien-thing they named “Carl” and share it with the world.
I’m going to start with all the things I loved about this book. The protagonist and cast of characters are diverse, intelligent, and interesting. I am in love with the idea of a book that reflects the landscape of twenty-somethings as I know them, not only the subset of heterosexual white people. They are educated. They are nerds. They use the internet and social media as a primary means of connection. They do not have their shit together.
Even so, I felt myself emotionally holding this book at arms-length. The first third of the book felt like name-dropping gaming, esports, and nerd fandoms as a way to gain my trust or interest early and not as natural character development. I *hated* April May and I never stopped hating her. While she held agency as the protagonist, which I value as a woman reading about women, she was just not all that interesting.
As a whole, the book felt like Green was plugging plot points into an equation in order to write a hip, modern novel with a diverse cast. Maybe this is not all that surprising given that he is a chemist with firsthand knowledge about streaming, Youtube, and managing social media as a brand. Then again, with firsthand knowledge, I wanted to feel the emotional connection and some sort of investment in what happens to these characters. I just didn’t.
Tl;dr: I liked it. I didn’t love it.
I’m going to start with all the things I loved about this book. The protagonist and cast of characters are diverse, intelligent, and interesting. I am in love with the idea of a book that reflects the landscape of twenty-somethings as I know them, not only the subset of heterosexual white people. They are educated. They are nerds. They use the internet and social media as a primary means of connection. They do not have their shit together.
Even so, I felt myself emotionally holding this book at arms-length. The first third of the book felt like name-dropping gaming, esports, and nerd fandoms as a way to gain my trust or interest early and not as natural character development. I *hated* April May and I never stopped hating her. While she held agency as the protagonist, which I value as a woman reading about women, she was just not all that interesting.
As a whole, the book felt like Green was plugging plot points into an equation in order to write a hip, modern novel with a diverse cast. Maybe this is not all that surprising given that he is a chemist with firsthand knowledge about streaming, Youtube, and managing social media as a brand. Then again, with firsthand knowledge, I wanted to feel the emotional connection and some sort of investment in what happens to these characters. I just didn’t.
Tl;dr: I liked it. I didn’t love it.