An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

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!

what the hell did I just read

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.

Wow. That was so weird, I loved it. Unlike anything I've ever read before.
I enjoyed April's character and wanted to scream at her all the same. She did some really shitty things like thirsting over other people when she already had a girlfriend (even though she never treated Maya like one). She is the epitome of an unlikable protagonist.
This made some great observations on humanity and internet culture. The social commentary was one of the best parts of this book for me. 
This book was incredibly funny too. It made me laugh out loud several times. I also loved how intricately woven the plot was. Hank Green is a genius.
While I wasn't expecting that ending, it did leave me kind of unsatisfied with the few answers that we got. I understand that there will probably be more of that in the sequel, but that makes this book seem like all build up.

I wasn't sure I liked this at first. I wanted to know what happened, but did I like it? Ultimately I did. There's a lot of interesting stuff about fame and social media and extraterrestrial life. April's awful, but knows it and it was a ride watching her navigate everything and grow. The sequel should be interesting!

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.

Wow. That was so weird, I loved it. Unlike anything I've ever read before.
I enjoyed April's character and wanted to scream at her all the same. She did some really shitty things like thirsting over other people when she already had a girlfriend (even though she never treated Maya like one). She is the epitome of an unlikable protagonist.
This made some great observations on humanity and internet culture. The social commentary was one of the best parts of this book for me.??
This book was incredibly funny too. It made me laugh out loud several times. I also loved how intricately woven the plot was. Hank Green is a genius.
While I wasn't expecting that ending, it did leave me kind of unsatisfied with the few answers that we got. I understand that there will probably be more of that in the sequel, but that makes this book seem like all build up.

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.

An average person plucked from obscurity and rapidly propelled into fame learns it's as harmful and addictive as any drug. Our omnipresent infinite feeds are forever altering us as individuals and as societies. Are we equipped to handle what we're becoming? In my opinion, the sci-fi plot is not all that important - it's merely a means to explore the broader human themes. Nevertheless, the mysteries surrounding it keeps the pages turning.

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.

This was entertaining. I've been binging the Sun Eater series and needed something light hearted before book 4 and this was perfect. It's funny, witty, and not at all what I was expecting. If your looking for a “first contact” style book this hits the category but not the mark. This story was way more about the characters, relationships, social dynamics, and politics than it was about the actual first contact. But again... it was highly entertaining.

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

So here's an unexpected 5 star read. I'd like more of those, please. :)

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 have read a lot of books about aliens. I have also read a lot of books about social media. But I think Hank Green is the only person who could write a book about social media AND aliens. The whole book is basically about a graphic designer who makes first contact so it's an instant win for me.

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.

3.5

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.

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.

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.

I loved it. Wow. Can't wait to read the next one.

I found the dialogue at the beginning kind of annoying but I feel like it found its way. I was skeptical because I've watched the vlogbrothers since they started out and I didn't want to just blindly like something produced by one of them but I really did love it. It was fun and interesting and made me say “oh no” out loud when I listened to the audiobook.

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

This was a page-turner! This book takes us on a ride on how the first contact with aliens might happen in a world dominated by social media. I am jumping into the sequel right away :) cannot wait to read what happens next!

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.

“An absolutely garbage thing”