An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
Ratings284
Average rating4
April May is your typical 20-something just trying to get through life as painlessly as possible despite working a job that is about as exciting as Wonder Bread™. She lives with her girlfriend, Maya, in New York City and her life is pretty, well, average. That is, until Carl and his merry band of other-Carls appear in cities all over the world. April May being the millennial child of the internet does what any of us would more than likely do in this day in age: wake up her best friend, Andy, and film a YouTube video “interviewing” Carl. What starts out as a silly 15-minutes of fame moment spirals into something larger than April May could have ever imagined. When the Backstreet Boys spoke of being “Larger than Life,” they had nothing on New York Carl, and April May is suddenly thrown into the limelight, forced center-stage, into the world of secrecy, backstabbing, and horrid PR-agents. And to top it all off, she has to find out what the Carls want as the safety of the world might depend on it.
I will start off saying that I really enjoyed this book. I liked the voice of the characters and the writing style and found it really easy to get into and stay into it. The story is told in a retrospective way as if April May is telling you the story herself of what happened with the Carls and her life, like she was actually in the room talking with you. I think that's why I liked the book so much; she felt real. She made horrid decisions and there were parts of the book where I kind of hated her for the things that she did. However, that is also why I loved her as a character. In real life, we can love someone but hate what they do, or find someone irritating and hate them for one reason but love them for another. She wasn't wholeheartedly black nor white; she was... April May.
I'm looking forward to the second book and I recommend this one for anyone wanting a weird kinda alien sci-fi read. And maybe if I ever meet Hank Green I can ask him the question that has been plaguing me since finishing the book: Why Arby's???
I really liked this book! I probably would have liked more of the mystery/sci-fi elements and a bit less of the passages about the perils of social media/fame. Those parts felt slightly heavy-handed but maybe that's just because I think about/read about those things a lot. But all in all - the characters were great, the central mystery was great, and I will definitely pick up the next one. The last page was a wonderful cliff-hanger and I was excited to see “#1” in the title.
DNF'd
I read 30% of the book and just wasn't feeling the characters, plot, conflict, etc... I love Hank Green this book just wasn't for me.
3.5 ⭐️ rounded up - rly enjoyed the story & it kept getting stronger throughout, i found the protagonist april to be annoying sometimes but given the circumstances it is realistic & very human for her to be annoying ! social media & online attention are weird
the writing was distracting at some points & felt a little wordy, & im by no means an editor but there were some editing mistakes that were distracting as well but overall very fun story, solid commentary about social media, the state of the world, hive mind mentality, etc etc
This was entertaining. I've been binging the Sun Eater series and needed something light hearted before book 4 and this was perfect. It's funny, witty, and not at all what I was expecting. If your looking for a “first contact” style book this hits the category but not the mark. This story was way more about the characters, relationships, social dynamics, and politics than it was about the actual first contact. But again... it was highly entertaining.
3.75
i liked this alot!!!!!! i loved the funny and quirky writting, it felt very real and easy to consume. i also like the message behind the whole story and the cliffhanger!!!!! i will for sure read the second book :) + bonus points for wlw relationship and pretty nice bi rep
2.5-3 stars...
Fun and definitely fast-paced enough to make me want to keep reading....but not sure I actually liked it that much?
Parts of this book feel like “lol so random” which sometimes feels too tumblr-era-internet-brained, but also kinda feels like a nod to other quirky and satirical sci-fi like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (although this was less adventurous and more of a contemporary fiction book with some sci-fi elements)... the tone and the way the internet is used/discussed in this book almost feels like a cross between an earlier extremely-online vernacular and a current extremely-online actual life (jokes about pop-tarts, randomness etc, but then the internet mainly being about social media apps rather than websites).
The main character is annoying but the writer wants us to be very aware that this is on purpose and that both he and she (the character) know she is flawed/sucks. I actually liked this aspect of the book as it was interesting...but it might have been even more interesting if it was just allowed to be, and not commented on so much. If it was left to the reader to form an opinion rather than being constantly told by the character “I know I suck, you must hate me as you read this” (not a direct quote) right before she does something bad/acts like a jerk/etc.
This book really feels like it was written by Hank Green. It feels deeply connected to his general internet persona (complete with occasionally throwing in a random science fact that there is no reason the character would have known/mentioned, like describing a siren with reference to the Doppler effect). I like his internet persona a lot more than I liked this book.
Also did not love that it ended on a cliffhanger!! I didn't hate this, it was a fun read, but I probably would not read the sequel...but now I want to know what happens!
It was a fun read but even though i think Hank intended it as a critique of the cult of personality in liberal politics in the age of social media, the liberal delusions Hank Green has of how politics work kept pulling me out of the story.
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[spoilers ahead]
I am always amazed that full grown adults believe that a “terrorist group” can be created from interactions online without any backing, funding or arming from a government (these people also believe revolutions are being organized online lol), that in case of an alien visit the “authoritarian” Chinese and Russian military will be on the scene to block it while the “democratic” American military would be nonexistent (literally no mention of them anywhere), and that there is some version of America where a president could have any kind of values?? Like that's literally not written by a 12 year old. Someone over 30 thinks this! Oh and also the american government has less information about something happening on their soil than a 23 year old girl stumbling about. I get that the book is written for young adults but we need to ease up on our wishful thinking.
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It's just that in sci fi lack of strategic, military and historical knowledge are much more flagrant than in other genres. Some political trivia without any analysis is not enough.
This was a page-turner! This book takes us on a ride on how the first contact with aliens might happen in a world dominated by social media. I am jumping into the sequel right away :) cannot wait to read what happens next!
An average person plucked from obscurity and rapidly propelled into fame learns it's as harmful and addictive as any drug. Our omnipresent infinite feeds are forever altering us as individuals and as societies. Are we equipped to handle what we're becoming? In my opinion, the sci-fi plot is not all that important - it's merely a means to explore the broader human themes. Nevertheless, the mysteries surrounding it keeps the pages turning.
While the main character was annoying, she also felt real and did illogical and dumb things that a real human would do. Can't knock that. I loved the message of this book and plays out a hypothesis that I've had: Aliens or some force outside of our planet will be the only thing to unite us. Even in the book it barely worked. :/
I love the Green brothers, so I'm maybe biased with my 4 stars. I really enjoyed it, though!
Why was this so good? I didn't expect this to be so good?An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is like if Sleeping Giants was narrated by a young bisexual disaster of a woman instead of a smug older nameless man. You've got your giant mysterious alien robots that our main characters feel a weird but committed affinity for, you've got your cobbled together team far too wrapped up in themselves and one another, you've got your reveal of a US president who is—surprise—a lady, can you believe it.What I quite like about the book is Green's commentary on the relevance of fame and social media to humanity's response to massive historical events. His firsthand experience allows him to offer up commentary that insists on the fundamental goodness of both the internet and humans, while also not shying away from how each can erode the other. He talks about fearmongering and radicalization leading to material harm. He talks about manufactured outrage and false equivalence. He talks about power dynamics warping personal and professional relationships; how we can hold power over others without wanting or realizing it.Why does something so trivial overshadow a story about actual aliens, one might ask. But is it really so trivial? Why isn't social media real? Why isn't it important? What happens when humans become a brand, when an image they project becomes something others consume, something they profit from? How do we balance being authentic online with nothing online being authentic?Anyway. I liked this a lot. If you like [b:Sleeping Giants 25733990 Sleeping Giants (Themis Files, #1) Sylvain Neuvel https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459785141l/25733990.SX50.jpg 42721200], [a:Alice Oseman 7789423 Alice Oseman https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1603122242p2/7789423.jpg]'s work on fandom, Emma Mills' stories about young people getting in over their heads on adventures, or the movie Ingrid Goes West, try this out.
I have read a lot of books about aliens. I have also read a lot of books about social media. But I think Hank Green is the only person who could write a book about social media AND aliens. The whole book is basically about a graphic designer who makes first contact so it's an instant win for me.
April was an interesting character but I love anything with Robots, aliens and pop culture clues. I really enjoyed this quick listen.
I loved it. Wow. Can't wait to read the next one.
I found the dialogue at the beginning kind of annoying but I feel like it found its way. I was skeptical because I've watched the vlogbrothers since they started out and I didn't want to just blindly like something produced by one of them but I really did love it. It was fun and interesting and made me say “oh no” out loud when I listened to the audiobook.
Smart and fun, with fully realized characters. The mystery and sci-fi of it all just added to it. I can't wait for more about the Carls.
I wasn't sure I liked this at first. I wanted to know what happened, but did I like it? Ultimately I did. There's a lot of interesting stuff about fame and social media and extraterrestrial life. April's awful, but knows it and it was a ride watching her navigate everything and grow. The sequel should be interesting!
Wow. That was so weird, I loved it. Unlike anything I've ever read before.
I enjoyed April's character and wanted to scream at her all the same. She did some really shitty things like thirsting over other people when she already had a girlfriend (even though she never treated Maya like one). She is the epitome of an unlikable protagonist.
This made some great observations on humanity and internet culture. The social commentary was one of the best parts of this book for me.??
This book was incredibly funny too. It made me laugh out loud several times. I also loved how intricately woven the plot was. Hank Green is a genius.
While I wasn't expecting that ending, it did leave me kind of unsatisfied with the few answers that we got. I understand that there will probably be more of that in the sequel, but that makes this book seem like all build up.
Wow. That was so weird, I loved it. Unlike anything I've ever read before.
I enjoyed April's character and wanted to scream at her all the same. She did some really shitty things like thirsting over other people when she already had a girlfriend (even though she never treated Maya like one). She is the epitome of an unlikable protagonist.
This made some great observations on humanity and internet culture. The social commentary was one of the best parts of this book for me.
This book was incredibly funny too. It made me laugh out loud several times. I also loved how intricately woven the plot was. Hank Green is a genius.
While I wasn't expecting that ending, it did leave me kind of unsatisfied with the few answers that we got. I understand that there will probably be more of that in the sequel, but that makes this book seem like all build up.
Reading or rather listening to this book has been an experience. I have no idea why but it kind of felt like dreams I've had. Ironic I know, but it just had weirdly familiar structure. I haven't ever really read a book like this. I have read books before with similar narration and have read many books in semi-scifi but this felt different and I have literally no way of even trying to describe it.
It might be because the main characters eerily reminded me of myself. She said the same things I would have and talks in the same way. Which was a really cool and simultaneously weird reading experience. It did however occur to me that the other characters didn't have distinct talking styles. Apart from maybe the main bad guy. But then again that might have been done on purpose. Since April is telling the story and the things people said are translated to her way of talking.
I also never really read a book were sexuality is discussed so openly, as well as the way the internet / the general world sees it. Especially in the context of someone famous. I thought that was very refreshing.
I realise this isn't really a review and more my thought on it, but it's my things so I can do whatever I want. Anyway, I really liked the book and the idea of the dreams. Sadly it ended on a cliffhanger which is a bit of a turnoff for me. But I definitely will be reading the next book so practically it doesn't matter.