Scan barcode
A review by notagreatreader
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This may be a controversial opinion given that this is a debut novel, but I think Hank Green may be a better writer than John Green xD Although my enjoyment might have increased because I listened to the audiobook and the way it's written seemed to really work in that format.
I love books that don't follow genre conventions or that are just a little bit weird but also don't take themselves too seriously. To me, this book really delivers in those aspects. I love this sort of 'soft' sci-fi as a vehicle to explore different topics, such as in this case, fame and humanity's responses to the unknown. Some folks seem to dislike that the Carls don't really do much or that the book is less about the Carls and more about April and the humanity's response to the Carls and April. But I feel like that's the point of this book. If you want to read a book where the aliens are at the forefront or just a 'harder' sci-fi, you need to go look for a different book.
I really enjoyed April, the disaster bisexual, as a character. I've said before in my reviews (perhaps in different words) that I love a heroine who goes all out to get what she wants. I'm tired of female characters that think too much of others and not enough of themselves. I like when female characters have a bit of an ego, when they want to be noticed and remembered. April perhaps is a bit of an extreme case here, being that she initiates first contact with an alien species and all, but I like this type of larger than life story, so to speak. I don't think it needs to be 100% "realistic", whatever that means. I like how April's character is constructed, as someone who's savvy enough to realize the importance of creating the right public persona yet unable to comprehend how that will affect her emotionally as a person. Although we actually didn't get to see her process the latter too much through the book, which is kind of a shame. I also love how April's bisexuality is portrayed: not quite a non-issue, given that it's used against her by her opponents, but it's really just there, a part of April's person and I love that it's allowed to just exist, that April is allowed to just exist as a bisexual person in the world... and make first contact. It's great.
I mostly enjoyed the way the different themes in the novel were explored, i.e. fame, person as brand, the importance of humanity working together. However, that last theme got a bit hammered in there, at the end. It's very obviously the voice of Hank Green that I know from the Vlogbrothers' content. So, given that the book is told from April's POV in first person, it was a bit weird to have so much of the writer as a person shine through in their character. Not necessarily a bad thing, I guess, but it speaks to this being very much a debut work of someone who perhaps hasn't created many different OCs before. You know what I mean?
I love books that don't follow genre conventions or that are just a little bit weird but also don't take themselves too seriously. To me, this book really delivers in those aspects. I love this sort of 'soft' sci-fi as a vehicle to explore different topics, such as in this case, fame and humanity's responses to the unknown. Some folks seem to dislike that the Carls don't really do much or that the book is less about the Carls and more about April and the humanity's response to the Carls and April. But I feel like that's the point of this book. If you want to read a book where the aliens are at the forefront or just a 'harder' sci-fi, you need to go look for a different book.
I really enjoyed April, the disaster bisexual, as a character. I've said before in my reviews (perhaps in different words) that I love a heroine who goes all out to get what she wants. I'm tired of female characters that think too much of others and not enough of themselves. I like when female characters have a bit of an ego, when they want to be noticed and remembered. April perhaps is a bit of an extreme case here, being that she initiates first contact with an alien species and all, but I like this type of larger than life story, so to speak. I don't think it needs to be 100% "realistic", whatever that means. I like how April's character is constructed, as someone who's savvy enough to realize the importance of creating the right public persona yet unable to comprehend how that will affect her emotionally as a person. Although we actually didn't get to see her process the latter too much through the book, which is kind of a shame. I also love how April's bisexuality is portrayed: not quite a non-issue, given that it's used against her by her opponents, but it's really just there, a part of April's person and I love that it's allowed to just exist, that April is allowed to just exist as a bisexual person in the world... and make first contact. It's great.
I mostly enjoyed the way the different themes in the novel were explored, i.e. fame, person as brand, the importance of humanity working together. However, that last theme got a bit hammered in there, at the end. It's very obviously the voice of Hank Green that I know from the Vlogbrothers' content. So, given that the book is told from April's POV in first person, it was a bit weird to have so much of the writer as a person shine through in their character. Not necessarily a bad thing, I guess, but it speaks to this being very much a debut work of someone who perhaps hasn't created many different OCs before. You know what I mean?
Content Warnings
Minor: Gore, Death, and Biphobia