you know, I DID kinda like this. But then I also kinda didn't? You know what I mean? April is a horrible character, I didn't like her, I thought she was vapid, and self-serving. But what is new in our socially-aware world? To get up at x o'clock just to make an Insta video seems normal these days, and yet, if you think about it, it's so wrong.
So Hank Green is doing a sterling job here of exposing the sheer idiocy of social media today, and I applaud him for it.
As a story, it lost itself a bit towards the end, but if there is a sequel it might pick up again. Who knows? I'll be reading it if there is a follow-on and hope for the best.

This book was excellent!
I am super satisfied with every aspect of the story, the only thin that confused me slightly was how it changed tenses alot.
Wasnt a huge fan of the ending but an overall good novel 3/5 stars

I have been a fan of the Vlogbrothers for around ten years and love John Green’s novels so I was excited to pick up Hank’s debut.

All I can say is “I NEED A SEQUEL!”. I adore this book. April May frustrated me to no end throughout the novel but I loved that about her. She made the decisions that I think a lot of people in their early twenties would in this situation. She is flawed, as are the side-characters, but it made them all the more realistic.

This did not feel like a debut novel and this may be a small thing for some people but one of the first things that showed me that this would be a great book was the fact that the author didn’t shy away from fully immersing the story in the internet age. It wasn’t futuristic and it wasn’t outdated. It was set nowadays and the technology was dealt with appropriately.

I don’t know what to say. I loved this and would highly recommend it. If you normally read contemporary fiction, I think this is a good way into science fiction, and if you usually read science fiction, this would be a great way to broaden your horizons. A wonderful read!

I wasn't sure what to think when I started reading this book. April May discovers these Transformer statues that she names Carl. It turns out that she was the one that discovered them and it leads to chaos all around. She wants to be the first to lead the charge to prove they are aliens and there are those that have beliefs that are different from hers out to prove her wrong. Is she the chosen one, or is she just a going through some remarkable things? I really thought this book was quite interesting and would definitely like to read more from this author. This was truly a unique work. Thanks for the ARC, Net Galley.

I received an ARC of this book from netgalley for my honest review.
This book is not a normal genre for me. The other worldly side of this book was just ok for me. The characters were unlikable for me- I didn’t feel like i was rooting for them.

I feel a little bit sorry for Hank Green when it comes to his writing career, kind of, because I can't help but feel he's going to be stuck for a while, lost in the shadow of his brother. Certainly, the buzz surrounding his debut novel An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, published in September, was largely oh my God John Green's brother wrote a book - I will readily admit that a large part of why I wanted to read this book was John.




It seems to be uncool to like John Green's books right now, but I've never been cool and I don't mind telling you that TFiOS holds a special place in my heart and that I thought Turtles All the Way Down was excellent but I'm not here to talk about that. Or about how Hank is John Green's brother (which you knew because a: I said it once already and b: you've seen the vlogbrothers videos anyway), I'm here to talk about Hank's book, which I read and which I want to try to review as a book in and of itself and without comparing it to the work of the already bestselling other sibling.

Which I suspected may be difficult as soon as I saw the main character was called April May because (I found myself thinking against my own will) that's a John Green character name if ever there was one.

Anyhow.

Let's get to the point.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is not, alas, an absolutely remarkable thing, but it is a pretty good book. I didn't love it but I also didn't hate it and I did find myself reaching for it whenever I sat down for five minutes which is A Good Thing.

The deal is this. At 3am one morning 23 year old April May comes across a massive statue that has just appeared in New York City. She calls her best friend, they make a YouTube video and go to sleep. The video goes viral and by the time April wakes up the next morning her life has changed. These same statues - they become known as Carls - have appeared all over the world and as the person who first saw the first one, April finds herself the poster girl for the whole bizarre scenario,

The premise is good and really interesting and it's a little bit sci-fi which is always a tick in The Plus Box from me and somehow even though it isn't especially fast-paced or exciting, I found myself utterly engrossed. I'm not sure what that's about actually, because when I finished I was mostly annoyed; whilst reading I was pretty annoyed and yet still, somehow, I couldn't stop reading it.
I think it's the social commentary. I do love that in a book. And here, snuggled in alongside this story of a girl who accidentally made first contact with an alien is a sharp and unsettling look at the social media age. It's a sharp reminder that the internet isn't real - something I think to myself quite often when I open my instagram and was a contributing factor to the reason I removed myself from Facebook a couple of years back - that it is actually scarily easily to perpetuate a not entirely accurate version of self to the masses (let's be real here, we all only ever show a fraction of who we are in our online presence. My instagram doesn't show my anxiety or my insecurities or my dilapidated office or my not so 'insta-worthy' home or the way last night I posted a photo of the book I was starting and then not five minutes later was curled in a ball of period pain, almost in tears on the phone to my boyfriend) and the way Green portrays this, via April who didn't even know what Twitter was before she found herself Internet Famous is so sharp and insightful. He's internet famous himself, our author and you can't help but wonder how much of this book comes from personal experience, whether at some point he's had a sudden flash of enlightenment, found himself living his life for how it looks online rather than just actually living it and as such this book became a brain dump for all of that.

Or perhaps he hasn't. Perhaps he's just really astute. I don't know. I just know that I was totally there for that aspect of the book.

And that's what makes the rest of it so sad.

The problem, pals, is this: I don't like April May. She's just....she's a dick. I didn't care about her because I didn't like her. Even when her agent tries to force her to label herself as gay because its easier to sell than bisexual, my hackles weren't really up, because I just couldn't find a way to care about this girl I didn't like. She's just....she's not nice to people. Her relationship with her girlfriend Maya is just toxic and made me really mad and she's pretty shitty to everyone else around her also and I just, I didn't like her. Manic Pixie Dream Girl Chosen One can just do one, actually, here because she's horrible.

Also the meshing of the whole Carl story (which had so much potential) and the fame story.....it didn't quite hit the mark. Perhaps the two threads were too different to be woven together, I don't know, I just know that something was a little bit off and that actually it all got really really repetitive. Which was a shame.

And the ending was super annoying - unless there's going to be a sequel in which case the ending was only regular annoying. It's quite a pretentious preachy ending to a book, and I don't need that especially when it comes seemingly from nowhere. I'm all for the moral of the story, and I totally agree with the basic message but the last couple of chapters of this book felt like they were ramming that message down my throat in a mad panic and it really bugged me. Too much moral, Hank, too much moral.

It was fun though, and I liked it, and I tore through it and if (when?) WHEN Hank Green writes another book I shall read it. I just hope it's less preachy and has a main character I don't want to nip in the face.

What would you do if at 3am, when walking through New York City you come across a giant sculpture, who looks like a transformer? Keep walking, take a photo, make a video? April May chooses the latter and calls her friend Andy instantly to help her film there and then. This decision is one that changes her life forever after the video they upload of Carl, as she decides to name the sculpture, goes viral! However, not all is as it first seems. There isn't just one 'Carl'; at the same time across the world Carl has appeared in many other cities. This incredible debut novel takes us on a journey of discovery not only in respect of April as she deals with her newly acquired fame but also in discovering what the Carl's want from the world and more specifically, from April.

I really loved the fast pace of this story and April was such an incredible character! I am so glad the story was told in first person from her perspective. I really felt like I got to know her and to sympathise when some of the decisions she made affected those closest to her. It really makes you stop to think and remember just how much power social media can have in making someone change the way they view themselves and their purpose in life. This book also cleverly focuses on how a culture of fear can lead people to behave in ways they might not otherwise choose to!

I also loved the mystery surrounding the Carls and how this was portrayed. I enjoyed picturing myself in New York at this time and imagining what feelings I would have had about New York Carl. The dream that becomes an important element within the story is also really clever!

This is a book I would definitely recommend and with an ending that just leaves you wanting more I think Hank Green has done an incredible job! I can't wait to see what he writes in the future!

This book is amazing, and I'm so glad that there's a sequel on the way as I just didn't want the story to end. Never thought I'd read a story about robots but this was done in a really great way through a brilliant character narrative. The characters were app interesting and each in their own ways but all great together. I couldn't put the book down and read it so quickly because the story has so much to it that you've got to keep reading. Can't wait to read more from Hank Green!

I absolutely loved this and read it in 3 days. It was really gripping, with a nice balance of science fiction, cultural references, and human interaction. I can't wait for the sequel.

Sadly this book is not for me. I felt the story was weak and I really struggled to connect with the characters.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Orion Publishing for my eARC of this book in exchange for my honest unbiased review

3.5 stars

“Just because someone has power over you doesn’t mean they’re going to use it to hurt you. People who believe that tend to either be: People who have been victims of that sort of behaviour, or people who, if given power, will use it to hurt you.”

Introducing Carl, a giant 10ft tall sculpture wearing a suit of samurai amor. Several Carls have suddenly appeared around the world. April May discovered her local Carl on her way home from work at 3am, she immediately alerts her best friend Andy who films Youtube videos and they upload one to his channel. Unbeknown to both, the video is an international sensation over night, giving them both a new found fame and a new life. However Carl isn’t just a giant sculpture. Follow April May in her quest to deal with her new found fame whilst also trying to discover what the Carl’s are and what they want from the human race.

I was lucky enough to be given a copy of this book from Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group. I have been toying with my review throughout reading this book. At some points it was a solid 5 stars however some parts were a bit slow and seemed pointless which is why the rating was lowered. I enjoyed the writing style and the idea was so unique. It did make me laugh throughout and I really did enjoy reading it. I did however really struggle to get on with the characters, especially April May. Were we not meant to like her? Because she really wasn’t a loveable character that I could personally relate to. I do feel this also made me bring down the rating slightly. On the whole, I did enjoy reading this book and for a debut novel it was thoroughly enjoyable. I would recommend that you read this book. I will be picking up his one.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is a novel about fame, fear, and the viral power of the internet, with a central out-of-this-world mystery. April finds a giant statue on the streets of New York City in the middle of the night, something that looks like a bit like a Transformer which she calls 'Carl'. She calls her best friend Andy and together they make a video about it and put it on YouTube. And then, suddenly, April is famous, the first person to approach one of the statues that sprung up around the world. She's in the media spotlight and she has to work out how she's going to play the situation and who she's going to be, and what or who the Carls are.

The book has an engaging narrative in many ways, as what could be about the mysterious statues turns out to be a lot more about the effect their appearance has on people and how being in the public eye is a dangerous thing. April is an openly flawed narrator, who loves the attention she suddenly gets and isn't good at dealing with personal relationships. The narrative voice is a bit uneven, as it is told retrospectively so April can highlight where she didn't make the right choice, but this doesn't always feel like it works. The writing style is a bit clunky too, and some of the dialogue a bit forced. Once used to this, however, it is easier to be intrigued by the plot and by the central characters.

This is a clever novel, in that it could just be about trying to solve the mystery of the Carls but is more predominantly about being in the public eye and how easily the internet can facilitate both community and hate. However, it doesn't quite live up to what it is trying to do.

This is Hank Greens debut novel and is about a young girl that is thrust into the spotlight after she finds an alien in the middle of New York City.
In terms of premise this is quite an original one in that it looks at how a sudden increase in popularity can affect someone in this day and age and the impact social media has on it. Social media has in recent years been known to turn "ordinary" people into house hold names almost over night so it was interesting to have a story based around that from someone who has such a large following on social media.
An absolutely remarkable thing was definitely quite formulaic in terms of plot and character development which didn't make for the most exciting read but did give an appearance of familiarity to it.

I went in thinking it would be an adult novel but it definitely reads more YA so that took some getting used to but overall this was not a bad read.

Was this an excellent book? No. Was it a load of fun to read though? absolutely

I think it is fair to say that this book rubbed me the wrong way. I didn't buy into the story at all - finding an alien statue in the middle of NYC and becoming famous because you posted a video of it??

The main character, April May, is one of the least likeable characters I've ever come across. She tells us she is quirky, but that's not how she comes across. Instead of being quirky, she is full of herself and extremely selfish, always doing what SHE wants despite her friends begging her otherwise. None of the other characters are developed much, so there was no one in the story I cared for. In addition, the writing felt rushed, lots of 'quirky' dialogue that I didn't enjoy.

I'm also confused as to who the book is aimed for. It was nominated in Goodreads fiction genre, but surely, this cannot be adult literature?

I'm sorry, I just don't get this book.

*I received an e-copy of the book from Orion Publishing Group in exchange of an honest review.*