I have been awaiting to read Hank Green’s debut
novel for more months than I will admit. And, when it was finally released, I
read it in one go. Not because it was Hank Green & I love him. Not because
I wanted to get ahead of the spoilers. But, just because, I COULDN’T find a way
to stop reading this absolutely remarkable & intriguing story. You just
cannot stop.
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Introduction:
I am going to do my best to review this
book without giving away the main parts or any spoilers. So, first of all, Hank
Green, along with John Green are vloggers at Nerdfighters. They are both
awesome. I was already a John Green fan because he writes amazingly! Now, I am
also Hank’s.
This novel is a
young-adult version of a modern sci-fi genre. The main character is April
May, who stumbles across a huge piece of art, which she describes as a transformer
wearing a suit of samurai armour. She walks by it because such things
are always there in New York City. But, then she realizes how cool it actually
is. She calls up her Youtuber friend, Andy Skampt. Together, they film a video
with the sculpture who she names Carl. It begins as an almost trivial thing and
only in a few hours becomes a world sensation. They get to know that the exact
same statue has been mysteriously popped up in many many place all around the globe!
And that’s just the beginning of everything strange!
The story
revolves around April May & the Carls. Hank Green highlights how fame,
money & social media can impact a young girl’s life & lead to some
global changes. We get to see April change from a normal graphic designer
working a normal job to becoming an internet sensation.
Characters:
April May! I can go on
& on about April May. (I assume there would be a movie of this & it
would be amazing if someone like Emma Watson plays the role of April May!)
April starts with being that girl-next-door who works at a start-up & works
long hours. She is a graphic designer, which makes her an artist, in her
opinion. She looked at Carls like they were a piece of art. She looked at
normal every-day things like they were art. I really liked that about her.
She’s bisexual which is another thing I
loved. Hank Green has tried to focus slightly but brilliantly in support of the
LGBTQ community by portraying her as bi.
As the story progresses, you understand
how satisfying it would have been to create an incredibly flawed protagonist.
She will do exactly what you don't want her to do & end up in trouble.
That's how the story goes on though, so you will love her for being
unapologetically herself. While she does all kinds of wrong, you will also realise she is so incredibly optimistic so much so that she believes in humanity. She grows so much throughout the story, it's amazing!
Andy Skampt is the other
50% contributor of the viral Carl video. He is a nerdy vlogger with a lot of
perspectives about everything. He is the calm in the middle of the chaos &
knows perfectly well how to calm the ones around him.
Miranda Beckwith is a
materials-science grad student. She is the reason April understood what the
Carls really were! If you are not interested, even after reading this, there's
something wrong with you!
So, she is the key 'sci' to the 'fi' of
April!
Some other characters are Maya, who is
April's girlfriend. She also becomes vital to solving something that the whole
world is solving pertaining to the mystery of Carls. But, of course, she is way
better at it.
Then, there's Robin, who is
April's assistant. So, yes, she becomes that important. Who knows, maybe even
the President of United States visits her with relation to the Carls, their
mystery & the solution.
Overall
Thoughts:
For a debut
novel, Hank Green has done a fantastic job. Having to think of the story
line after doing in-depth research about the scientific side & also
stressing on the fame & social media addiction while slightly supporting
for LGBTQ & doing all this with stressing on humanity & optimism & all the time keeping it so incredibly interesting was pure
writing talent! To put up so many perspectives & areas of importance in one
novel was quite commendable.
Apart from the
underlying meanings that we get from 'An Absolutely Remarkable Thing', it
leaves us with an intriguing end wanting to come back & read it again &
wanting for more. I might be biased because I love the Greens, but honestly,
every chapter has so many ups & downs that it is impossible to not
continue. After the end of every chapter, you'll say, "One
more", until you read it entirely at one go! So, go ahead
& start reading! I have given it a 4/5 stars on Goodreads.
Typical
April May lines:
Is that her or are we all really the same?
“It’s just that there are a
lot of people doing a lot of amazing things, so eventually you get a little jaded.”
“The trick to looking cool
is not caring whether you look cool. So, the moment you achieve perfect
coolness is simultaneously the moment that you actually, completely don’t care.”
“They tell you that power
corrupts… They never tell you how quickly!”
“Knowing something is a bad
idea does not always decrease the odds that you will do it.”
“Once life gets a certain amount
of weird, more weird just doesn’t really matter.”
“I was exhausted both
physically and emotionally. My life had been turned inside out and upside down
and then blended, spiced, spliced and rebranded.”
“I hadn’t been called on my
bullshit in a while. It was unpleasant but also a little refreshing.”
“Deep down, you dislike
yourself enough that you cannot imagine anyone worthwhile actually wanting to
be with you.”
Until Next time,
