seppsepp reviewed An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green
Review of 'An Absolutely Remarkable Thing' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Boldly, Green adds the „#“ to the title.
Boldly, Green adds the „#“ to the title.
Mysteries, puzzles, and Human foibles
This book is a riveting story about an unexpected mystery, and how flawed Humans find their way towards resolving one of the biggest mysteries of our time (while a small number behave like small-minded xenophobes, as some do). It's a terrific read.
It's a good story and there's a couple of moments that made me feel v smug and smart, but I did also sort of want to slap April May quite often. The ending fell a bit flat for me, tbh.
This book was recommended to me by friends and it surpassed all expectations I had. On the surface this is a light and fun read. I started off the book chuckling at one liners and comments and very quickly the story consumed me and I didn't want to put it down.
Most surprising was the themes and poignant remarks that Hank Green sprinkled throughout the story too. 2020 has been a handbag of unpleasant news and this book felt incredibly relevant. In what other year will you have actual Carls (monoliths) show up, be inundated in the news cycle with beliefs and religion being attacked and discussed (anti-masks and "but mah rights" protests) and try to find like minded people who want to bring good to the world.
The book was almost too on the nose for what the year has been, and it didn't stop there. The lead character, …
This book was recommended to me by friends and it surpassed all expectations I had. On the surface this is a light and fun read. I started off the book chuckling at one liners and comments and very quickly the story consumed me and I didn't want to put it down.
Most surprising was the themes and poignant remarks that Hank Green sprinkled throughout the story too. 2020 has been a handbag of unpleasant news and this book felt incredibly relevant. In what other year will you have actual Carls (monoliths) show up, be inundated in the news cycle with beliefs and religion being attacked and discussed (anti-masks and "but mah rights" protests) and try to find like minded people who want to bring good to the world.
The book was almost too on the nose for what the year has been, and it didn't stop there. The lead character, April May, is battling an identity crisis in order to reconcile to her new brand, balancing fame with friendships and being in love with the faceless masses behind social media.
For the first time in ages I read a physical book and I wished I could have highlighted passages and sentences because this book was full of incredible statements. At times I felt the story leaned a bit too much in to cultural references (not quite like Ready Player One but close) but those were infrequent.
I didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did but it was the right palate cleanser for a year of fantasy and nice way to end my 2020 books.
The Green Brothers are a huge force for good in the world. When I heard Hank discussing his second book on Yang Speaks, it was time to finally read something of theirs.
From the interview, I knew Hank was going to include his takes on fame, social media, publicity, and politics. That’s what I read for and enjoyed—even if it felt a little shoehorned in, coming from characters in their 20s giving well-thought out monologues with numbered lists. The science involved in the story was great too. My main gripe, skimming over some things I’ll just attribute to being in the young adult genre, is that the story ends on a cliffhanger and with nothing resolved. If I didn’t have the second audiobook to immediately begin, I probably wouldn’t have read another book from Hank, because finishing this was incredibly unrewarding.
An amazing book. Got so swept in I forgot all the COVID19 troubles outside.
I pre-ordered the second book the minute I finished this one. Highly recommended!
Very entertaining read! I really don't understand why characters in books and movies need to swear so much. But, regardless, enjoyable read.
So it turns out: both the Green brothers can write! I had zero expectations heading into this and still found myself pleasantly surprised. This book was a lot of fun. Technically it's science fiction, but what makes this story compelling are the questions it wrestles with on the topics of identity, fame, friendship, and fear vs. trust-based thinking. The primary narrator has a great voice that grabbed me out of the gate and let me feel like a voyeur peeping behind the curtain of an over-night celebrity. My only frustration stems from the number of unanswered questions and plot lines that weren't tied in a bow... but I guess that means I'll definitely be reading the sequel when it's released.
Ojo, que este libro engancha mucho. Una vez empezado, no he podido soltarlo hasta terminarlo. La fama viral, la adicción a los "likes" y seguidores en las redes está muy bien retratado. El autor Hank Green es un veterano en las redes, y se nota en esta obra.
ill try to shove this book down the throats of all my friends. honestly, i think is one of the best books ive read in my life; even though i know this could change in a month or so when i have overcame this novel. coz ive just finished the book and im still crying bc i didnt want it to end. that was bloody amazing.
I keep falling for hype of books I should know better than to do so for.
It's good, it's entertaining. I gladly escaped into it with my "I'm sick"-fuzzy brain. But it wasn't my thing.
The protagonist is stupid in a way real humans are I'm probably worse than April at saying (and believing) I'll do this thing next time, and then not doing that thing but characters in a story become annoying and seem unrealistic in their stupidity.
The ending: The setup is so grand that I think leaving it ambiguous is better than giving some specific explanation, but I kind of wished for something more specific.
And of the themes of the story, I see they are relevant to our times, but not to me personally.
The theme of seeking attention online, in the form of likes or whatever, I don't particularly do that.
The theme of becoming …
I keep falling for hype of books I should know better than to do so for.
It's good, it's entertaining. I gladly escaped into it with my "I'm sick"-fuzzy brain. But it wasn't my thing.
The protagonist is stupid in a way real humans are I'm probably worse than April at saying (and believing) I'll do this thing next time, and then not doing that thing but characters in a story become annoying and seem unrealistic in their stupidity.
The ending: The setup is so grand that I think leaving it ambiguous is better than giving some specific explanation, but I kind of wished for something more specific.
And of the themes of the story, I see they are relevant to our times, but not to me personally.
The theme of seeking attention online, in the form of likes or whatever, I don't particularly do that.
The theme of becoming the person you craft your online person to be - my online person is so censured down it's not even a person.
The theme of getting dragged into opposing opinion spiral, I'm kind of sick of it. I've been there, done that, become aware I'm doing it and trying to not do that ever again. And I know it's very important but I don't think this book gives significant insight into this phenomenon. I kind of liked how it hinted that two sides are needed for an argument but that was that.