Reviews with content warning for Violence - An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

A funny yet gripping story by Hank Green (a family of fantastic & moving writers). The story carried inertia: I found myself unable to put it down the further I got into it.

It did a lot of future hinting but taking you down paths that you didn't expect the story to go.

My interpretation of this story contains an overarching theme as well as one that stood out to me. I feel like this story is a critique of fame/power and the grasp that it oft has on us. A quieter tone is, I feel this story may have some to do about climate change, specifically a problem that we all must work on to solve together. These are more speculation that I had toward the end of the book

Even the Acknowledgements made me feel something.

I'm excited to pick up the sequel.

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itsdelulu's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I originally was going to give a 3.5 but bumped it up for a CRJ reference.
A little slow to get into but quickly became an engaging read that I had to see through to the end. I will definitely read A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor next!

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cosmicwillow's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

i fucking loved this book so much wow. im so mad i waited soooo long to read it because it’s phenomenal. so incredibly human and such a great sci-fi commentary on humanity. truly so much fun to read.

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lzaz87's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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maetaurus's review against another edition

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funny inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I am very biased because I’ve followed and loved Hank Green’s content for many years, but I genuinely think this is an excellent book. It makes you think about online creators and their fame in a way that I don’t think many people do. Outside of the ‘true meaning’ of the book, the plot is so unique and is what grabbed my attention. I really just wanted to know who the Carls were and why they were there and what their origin was. I don’t love that the ending is a massive cliffhanger but it helps that the sequel is already out and I can start reading it now.

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alexcooper88's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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sestout's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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grizzlysnack's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.5

Hank Green should stick to creating YouTube videos and educational content.

I understand that this story is meant to be reflective and show that humanity is not a horrible thing, but rather something each and every human shares and should create with one another. The way that this story delivered that message frustrates me.
April (our main character) points out multiple times that she is a bad person—she actively shows the audience exactly how bad she is to the people she supposedly loves. April is not a likable character, and yet we’re supposed to root for her.

April is so self-centered that I feel as though she’s incapable of being ‘humanity’s liaison’, which you find out is the role set upon her, after seeing New York Carl.
April acts on impulse, rarely (sincerely) forgives or acknowledges when she’s wrong, and is narcissistic. That doesn’t make me want to buy another book from Hank Green, with April talking in my ear for 9 hours

I will listen to a content creator’s views all day long, but as soon as you throw those views into a fictional character that actively proves themselves to be a morally shitty person, you’ve lost my sympathy for that character’s decisions and reasoning.

0.5 stars because there are a few topics that could be written about and make a convincing story, but those topics are rarely brought up between the 338 pages I just read.

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