Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

I'll go ahead and say I did not like the main character all that much for a little while, but her arc is so human and realistic (even with the unreal circumstances).

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elizamariereads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was spectacular! Want a genre-bending sci-fi with an unlikeable protagonist that makes you question society? Well, this book is for you! April May (dumb name tbh) was one of the most obnoxious main characters I've ever read about but damn did I love this book. The whole plot was so confusing and twisty but I walked away from this story feeling seriously reflective about how much weight we put on the opinion of celebrities and things said on social media. Very interesting book!

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readandfindout's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

Style/writing: 3 stars
Themes: 5 stars
Characters: 2.5 stars
Plot: 4.5 stars
Worldbuilding: 3.5 stars

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lisa_m's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book was amazing! It is sci-fi which is not something I usually love but what made this book so special is the humanity of it. The story - even though abstract and weird - is told in a way that makes me believe it. It reads like a kind of autobiography with an unreliable narrator. Throughout the book it gets hinted that the narrator is actually dead which is confusing but also we only know as much as the people knew at that point in the story.

This book also made me extremely angry. Hank Green manages to capture pure humanity and the basic human flaws in such a magnificently realistic way. He manages to name things that have always bothered me and the reactions of the characters to this crazy situation is absolutely realistic. I don't doubt for a second that if this would have been reality it could have been exactly like this.

Also our protagonist is extremely flawed. Still we root for her because she is our way into the story. She is the one that tells us about it but still she is pretty crappy sometimes and even aware if that.

I love this book so much. And since the last few books I've read were all spectacular in their own way I fear those words may sound hollow - but they are nevertheless true. This was captivating, interesting, realistic and so so humbling.

And also the cliffhanger in the end makes me scream!! I am so glad the sequel is out already because otherwise I may have hated this book purely because of this.

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the_escapist's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

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calamitywindpetal's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

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balfies's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

Thought I didn't like scifi, but it turns out I really like first contact stories!

This is a really fun, funny, gripping read from YouTube science dad Hank Green, which explores first contact through the lens of its impacts on people: themes include the all consuming and uncontrollable nature of fame, becoming someone whose brand is expressing hope for humanity, and the ways we dehumanise ourselves as individuals in efforts to humanise a collective experience.

Also contains Carly Rae Jepsen lyrics, so truly the perfect fun read.

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mrswhiteinthelibrary's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Hank Green managed to write a spot-on satire of the Covid-19 pandemic several years before it happened, pinpointing the source of our intense division and the misery of being more connected than ever but ever more alone... And he did it without it being a pretentious slog, in a book with mechas, puzzles, and a true sense of wonder. While some aspects of it may grate (the sometimes overly twee dialogue that his brother also seems to love to employ) his use of specific details and his deeply flawed heroine keep this book grounded and the pages fly by. Bravo all around.

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