An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

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.

Celebrity, fame, mob-mentality, the cult of personality, and fear—both rational and irrational—and the power of teamwork/crowd-source/open-source . . . all wrapped up in a story of friendship, love, and a bit of sci-fi. Hank Green weaves a breezy, but tightly plotted, page-turner of a tale.

This is just an observation: It did take me a bit to get used to the first-person past narrative. And he quite often broke the fourth wall. Ok, what am I saying, I never really got used to that; it reads like a long blog-post in a sense. It's not a point of view that is natural to me for a novel, but . . . it's a style.

Regardless, it's a great story and a fun read that will make you think.

Right off the bat, I am leaning more towards a 3.5 star rating, but I am willing to give the start of this series a bit of a pass. This is one of the first real new-aged science fiction book that I have read and it really took a while to get use to the pop references and the speech patterns of the main character. But after that and I was able to get to the heart of the story it certainly was a fun one. I'd recommend this book if you want a bit of a lighter science fiction read.

Sci fi but with a focus on the effects of sudden fame. Carl has chosen April May as first contact.

So although I have only given this book a two star rating there were a lot of elements I enjoyed about the book. I thought the concept behind the novel was fascinating - imagine strolling home and finding a gigantic statue that seemed to have appeared in a blink of an eye. Then to hear that identical statues were dotted all over the world at exactly the same time. This hooked me immediately.

April, the main character then rushes to document it uploading a video to social media, this element I found quite believable. The novel continued in this way with lots of social media references, the mystery surrounding the statues and looking at how April's personal life changes as her fame increases.

I found the writing style too colloquial and began to lose interest in the novel. To me it felt more of a YA book.
Although I was still fascinated with the Carls (the statues) I got bored with the ‘Dream' and the opposing side to April's followers.

I am glad I persevered with the novel as the ending was fitting and left you with a real cliffhanger which I really enjoyed. I'm not sure I will be reading the second book in the series but I appreciate the opportunity to read this book and would recommend it a younger audience than myself and anyone who enjoys mysteries and YouTube reality stars.

Part of me was annoyed that it seemed Hank was using this novel as a way to complain about how very hard it is to be obscenely rich and famous. An annoying problem only famous people have. ;)
But there was so much more to this book. I was completely hooked... I'll admit I was pleasantly surprised to find Hank is a great writer in his own right. I really really enjoyed the ride.

My gf read this book before me and liked it and her tastes are much different than mine so I was excited that this book was so enjoyable. Not that I didn't doubt another Green would be a good author. Man this book was great. I read it in a few days and was excited to see where the story was going and was probably the most satisfied I'd been with a book ending that did not tie up every question at the end.

I would read a sequel to this but I do not think it needs one. Great job Hank.

“I don't think I actually felt any of those ways, but it seemed on-brand.” This book actually is a remarkable thing. Remarkably horrible, in fact. Or maybe it's the generation gap – at least if we're not talking about biological age because Green is just about four years younger than me. This “Thing” deals with the appearance of aliens in every major city on earth and a young adult woman, April May (seriously?), who becomes an Internet celebrity for dealing with the implications of this “visit”. I chose the initial quote because everything in this book is pretty much superficial and only deals very shallowly with all the possible implications of physical confirmation of the existence of intelligent life beyond Earth. (Well, intelligence is relative – as anyone reading to the end will find out when “Carl” utters a single simple word as “judgement” on mankind.) The entire book is basically Hank Green trying to build upon his clout as an Internet celebrity (at least I guess he is; I've never heard of him) and tries to stay “on-brand” just like his not-very-likeable heroine. Oh, and April May is, of course, bisexual. Now, don't get me wrong: That's perfectly fine with me (hey, I am, too!) but the way Green writes her makes it very obvious that April is just bisexual because Hank thinks it's “trendy” and “modern”. She's a tool on many levels... April is terrified of intimacy, nevertheless often lonely, insecure, neurotic and egotistical (traits many of which she most likely shares with the majority of the nerd-ish target audience). In short, she's a mess. A mess with Thoughts, though: “We're going to skip around the timeline of the story a bit here, but I have now been on the news a lot, and I have Thoughts.” Yes, brilliant, the audience is oftentimes directly addressed which I find almost as HIGHLY ANNOYING AS THE SHOUTING (in net-speak) which occurs often. I actually hate it when literary figures address me as the reader. Do not break the fourth wall unless you have a really good reason for that or the writing talent that Green very obviously lacks. What he lacks in talent, he tries to make up for in preaching liberal ideas: “But in those manic moments when I thought I could be some kind of vessel for truth, I'd thought about what I'd say if I someday got a soapbox. That income inequality is out of hand. That all people are pretty damn similar so it would be great if we stopped hating each other. That prison sentences for nonviolent crimes are dumb and that drug addiction is a health problem, not a crime problem.” Yes, Hank, I agree with all your points and so probably does about 95% of intelligent mankind with me. Even for an Internet celebrity “stop hating each other” is a bit on the intellectually “thin” side, though, eh? The entire book seems solely written to build upon Green's status and to appeal to his “Nerdfighteria” (read: fanboys and –girls) from the “millennials” generation. Parts of the book are probably meant as (self-)criticism or reflection on this Pavlovian reflex to jump on pretty much any bandwagon that (seems to) remotely make sense, no matter what the consequences: “Of course, I was pulling this all straight out of my ass. I didn't know if the Carls were dangerous or if my mind was being controlled. Who cared as long as my made-up shit wasn't as poisonous as Peter Petrawicki's made-up shit. In the end, my brand was me, so whatever I said became something I believed.” Ultimately, though, this will more likely work self-affirmatively – after all, the “Nerdfighteria” are just sitting behind their keyboards and surfing the net; it's not like they'd ever act like that “IRL” (in real life). Even when Green tries to do more than scratch on the surface of things, he doesn't get beyond a single sentence at best before falling back into his comfort zone of writing with the philosophical depth of fortune cookies: “I'm honestly worried, because I think we're just starting to get used to the impact that the social internet is having on us culturally and emotionally and socially.” Green caters to his audience so much that he even includes verbatim tweets of dubious value to the story, transcripts of interviews and, most annoying, lists, e. g. “Here are a list of thoughts I had in the space of five seconds”. I could forgive all that stuff if only Green had some talent for writing and something resembling style in between lists and tweets but it only gets to this level: “I reached under my shirt to feel my own skin, warm and soft and as fragile as air.” “Fragile as air”? Her skin? What kind of comparison is that? Have you ever managed to break air? Let's see how a competent author handles a very similar feeling her heroine experiences: “I felt like a newly laid egg, all swishy and gloopy inside, and so fragile that the slightest pressure could break me.” (From: “[b:Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine 31434883 Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine Gail Honeyman https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1493724347s/31434883.jpg 47327681]”, by [a:Gail Honeyman 14558709 Gail Honeyman https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1475252960p2/14558709.jpg]) That makes much more sense. All that mess basically boils down to one simple truth that seems to apply to both creation and creator: “I was really, deeply, honestly, and truly infatuated with having people pay attention to me.” Don't get me started on the ending, by the way; it's the coup de grâce for the entire book. So, if you're a teenager up to a twenty-something (and daft to boot), you might enjoy this thing. If you're above the age of 40, find a real book. Anyone in between should proceed with caution.P.S.: If you intend to include senseless, meaningless gore in your book for no reason but to cater to violence freaks, at least have the decency to just write it. Or, better even, just leave it out because, honestly, if you're aware you should warn your readers, it's a pretty good indicator you're doing it wrongly: “This chapter is going to contain some graphic violence. I will tell you when it's coming. I will not be offended if you skip it.”

I love Hank. I love his videos and I was quote psyched to read his book!
The plot is like nothing I have read before. It's bizzard and outer worldly (literally). The city is utilised very well. The fame and it's problems are described so bloody well! Portions discussing fringe groups and growing distrust and it's discourse on twitter is discussed so bloody well. I tip my hat to the author.
But the characters, all apart from April May, seem not well crafted. And even after 345 pages of this book, I cannot bring myself to like the protagonist or empathize with her struggles. The book is April May and all the characters that are either agreeing and supporting her (which are the good guys) or critical of her and not in her constant support (aka all the bad guys). April May comes off as a shallow, privileged, narcissistic individual and constantly makes me wonder why she was chosen. Maybe part two would rationalise it but all said and done. This might be the most bizarre and intriguing book I have read in past two years. I want to read more from Hank! :)

I feel let down by this story. Such a cool premise with a lot of great discussions that can come out of it. I just wished for a lot more.

I feel like I'm in the minority here, but overall I did not love this. I loved the concept of these mysterious huge statues appearing in countries around the world. I also loved the viral Dreamscape and the puzzles everyone joins together to solve. I would have loved it if a lot more of the book was focused on that.

My main problem was that I found the main character, April May, to be so profoundly unlikable. She discovers that getting attention on Twitter and other social media platforms feel good! Welcome to the 21st century April! A great deal of the book is about her philosophies about how people interact online, building her brand, making money, and turning herself into an internet personality, all the while torpedoing all of her personal relationships (breaking up with her girlfriend, hiding in the bathroom during her brother's wedding reception in order to check Twitter).

You think you're picking up a book about mysterious alien robots, but the book is a whole lot of this - “I maybe had $2 million in the bank at that point, and we burned through a full $300,000 of that in the first month of development. The money was officially going out faster than it was coming in, but everyone seemed confident that that would change as soon as the book came out, so that's most of what I was focusing on. The good news was there was a solution to the money problems just on the horizon. April 24 @AprilMaybeNot: When did “makin' love” become “makin' love” because they talk about makin' love in lots of old songs and I don't think they're talking about fuckin'.”

I guess since the book is told from her perspective, and she presents a tone that's very self aware of her own failings, it's supposed to garner sympathy from the reader? It didn't work for me. You don't get a pass for being a jerk just by saying “Oh yeah, I know I was a total jerk here but...” I really, really wished that the book had been told from Maya's perspective. While April is out there building April May™, Maya is in the dream solving tons of the puzzles! I really felt like we missed out on so much interesting story there. And her cat comic the Purrletariat sounds amazing. Andy also would have been a great protagonist. I want to know more about his podcast, and his barely mentioned roommate Jason. One of my favorite parts of the book was the very last chapter, which is told through Andy's perspective. It was the first time since the start of the book that I found myself liking April, when filtered through his perspective.

I don't read YA but this is Hank Green's debut and there are few humans I do not know personally but adore as much as the Green brothers. My conclusion is that this is a very valuable and essential book for the genre (and indeed all genres): with personal insight and tons of wisdom Hank addresses the nature and power of the social internet, it's potential, the difficult reality of social media fame, and so much more. A very contemporary book, firmly grounded in the (western) young adult world of online communities and living, a world largely ignored by fiction but unmissable in real life. The former really baffles me but Hank, as he does so often, took care to lead the way. Thank you ♥️

-Also YES HANK, you do have a beautiful book cover. If you are a nerdfighter you will recognise a lot of Hank in the pages of the book.
-(I don't want to refer to how engaging the language or the plot was, I'm not a YA reader anyway and it's not the point I'm trying to make.)

I made an unbelievably rookie mistake and did not listen to this on audio. Will have to remember to do that before the sequel!!?

Man this was bad. Oh boy was this bad. It's like if a millennial girl wrote a book for a Gen Z boy and used Tik Tok instead of a dictionary.

If this were written by anyone other than Hank Green, I don't think it would have gotten one-tenth of the attention it received. It's a mediocre first contact story with a social media satire gloss and a LOT of moralizing. Apparently April May sounds exactly like Hank Green's blog/podcast voice - surprise! Gets 3 stars instead of a lower rating because it was an entertaining, quick read. Don't really care about the sequel though.

Hey, remember when I started reading this months ago and then fell into a weird reading rut and haven't read a proper book since? Anyway, glad to be finishing the year by finishing this absolutely remarkable book (I am sure I am the only one who has made that comment in a review, too).

I truly enjoyed this story. A small group of characters pull on all of your heartstrings with their wonky flaws. The plot unfolds in ways that are not completely expected, and the whole thing just flies by. I recommend this book to just about everyone. It is a lovely tribute to hopefulness, innocence, and our imperfections. Read the book.

I knew I wanted to read this book because I love John and his books, and I love Hank and I knew I would /like/ his book. I did not know how magnificent a writer he'd be. This book is nothing like john's books, and it is such a wonderfully twisting and turning narrative. I'm afraid to try and summarize it personally because I don't think I can do it justice. I recommend this book wholeheartedly.

I couldn't help but noticing a lot of Hank coming through in April. Maybe it's coz we know the author so well, but the perceived value & fame of being internet famous bleeds so well in April that you couldn't help but notice the similarities. The story is , in simple terms, a first contact story & as most first contact stories the protagonist is a woman coz, well, the smarter sex. After reading Artemis, I had given up on male authors writing good female leads, but this one is up there. The story is in first person, like a memoir. The end felt too rushed for me. Maybe I'll have to revisit that at a later date.

This was an absolutely amazing book! The story timeline, the characters, the concept. While it definitely has this great science fiction vibe, it is so much more than that. The way Hank tackled fame and how one deals with fame was perfection. I cannot wait for more books from him!