books like an absolutely remarkable thing

As she and her friends search for an explanation, she struggles with her newfound addiction to fame and the damage it causes to her most important relationships. April May becomes a celebrity but soon discovers that dozens of Carls have appeared in cities across the globe. Entranced, she summons Andy, a classmate with a video camera, and the two introduce the figure they dub Carl to the world via YouTube. His main character, the unfortunately named April May, is a recent art-school grad who happens upon a 10-foot-tall robotic sculpture in the darkened streets of Lower Manhattan.

The younger Vlogbrother (John Green is the other) draws on his passion for science and his experience as a 'Tier 3' celebrity ('You'll probably trend on Twitter if you die') for a comic debut that combines science fiction and mystery with philosophical musings about the perils of internet fame. The beginning of an exciting fiction career, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is a bold and insightful novel of now. And all eyes are on April to figure out not just what the Carls are, but what they want from us.Ĭompulsively entertaining and powerfully relevant, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing grapples with big themes, including how the social internet is changing fame, rhetoric, and radicalization how our culture deals with fear and uncertainty and how vilification and adoration spring for the same dehumanization that follows a life in the public eye. Seizing the opportunity to make her mark on the world, April now has to deal with the consequences her new particular brand of fame has on her relationships, her safety, and her own identity. News quickly spreads that there are Carls in dozens of cities around the world-from Beijing to Buenos Aires-and April, as their first documentarian, finds herself at the center of an intense international media spotlight.

The next day, April wakes up to a viral video and a new life. Delighted by its appearance and craftsmanship-like a ten-foot-tall Transformer wearing a suit of samurai armor-April and her best friend, Andy, make a video with it, which Andy uploads to YouTube. Roaming through New York City at three a.m., twenty-three-year-old April May stumbles across a giant sculpture.

In his wildly entertaining debut novel, Hank Green -cocreator of Crash Course, Vlogbrothers, and SciShow -spins a sweeping, cinematic tale about a young woman who becomes an overnight celebrity before realizing she's part of something bigger, and stranger, than anyone could have possibly imagined. But beneath its effervescent tone, more complex themes are at play.” -San Francisco Chronicle “Sparkling with mystery, humor and the uncanny, this is a fun read.

Books like an absolutely remarkable thing