An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

Description: The Carls just appeared. Coming home from work at three a.m., twenty-three-year-old April May stumbles across a giant sculpture. Delighted by its appearance and craftsmanship--like a ten-foot-tall Transformer wearing a suit of samurai armor--April and her friend Andy make a video with it, which Andy uploads to YouTube. The next day April wakes up to a viral video and a new life. News quickly spreads that there are Carls in dozens of cities around the world--everywhere from Beijing to Buenos Aires--and April, as their first documentarian, finds herself at the center of an intense international media spotlight...Now April has to deal with the pressure on her relationships, her identity, and her safety that this new position brings, all while being on the front lines of the quest to find out not just what the Carls are, but what they want from us.

Review: Hank Green is the brother of John Green, one of the well known young adult authors. Hank's debut novel is a great entryway into speculative/science fiction for those who are unfamiliar with the genre. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is a social commentary on social media and fame as well as a science fiction mystery. April May is a twenty year old graphic artist who works in a creative-sucking job at a Manhattan setup. She longs to use her art degree and do a passion job. Ironically, her creativity sparks an overnight sensation when she vlogs a funny introduction to a an armored humanoid figure, which turns out to be alien in nature, who she calls Carl. The video goes viral and suddenly Carls have been appearing all over the world. While the Carls remain motionless, they spark curiosity, paranoia, and fear. After they discover a complex riddle involving the Queen song “Don’t Stop Me Now,” the mystery becomes a quest for April and her friends.
  An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is highly readable. I found myself more drawn to the human aspect of the story, especially where April has to deal with her instant celebrity status. We live in a time of social media where we present a version of ourselves online, perhaps a fabricated one without flaws. April juggles with her fame and the pressures of constantly churning out material to feel the high of attention. Her celebrity status changes her relationships with those around her, making her wonder if people want to be around her so they can be famous by proxy or if they really like her. The mystery of the Carls isn't boring, but it took some time for me to get interested in it. The clues are sprinkled throughout the story and the dream sequences are quite bizarre. There is a cliffhanger in the end of the book, which makes me very hopeful that we will see more of the Carls and April.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is strong language, some disturbing images, and a small fade to black sex scene. Recommended for teens and adults.

If you like this book try: Themis Files series by Sylvian Neuvel, Touch by Courtney Maum