April May is 23 years old and working at a small internet start-up in New York but her true passion is art and design. Leaving work in the early hours of the morning she comes across the most beautiful sculpture she has ever seen, towering at over 10 feet tall like a transformer wrapped in samurai armour. In the spur of the moment she makes a decision to call her friend Andy who films a video of April and the sculpture, nicknamed Carl, and uploads it to YouTube. When they wake up the next day, the video has gone viral.
Weirdly, Carl is not unique to New York. Carls have popped up in many of most populated cities worldwide, all at the same moment while no one was looking. All CCTV footage was stopped worldwide and any audio recordings contain a faint trace of Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now”. It quickly becomes obvious that the Carl’s physical properties defy all known science and the origins of Carl becomes a worldwide mystery and obsession. As the world’s first documenter of the Carls, April May is in high demand and her life is turned upside down.
I really enjoyed reading An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. I have found that there are not many books which have a main character who is not a teen or an adult that turns 20 and magically has their whole life together. The book explores how the internet and social media has changed the way we think and consume information along with the highs and lows of fame along with friendship and finding yourself.
Hank Green is not a new name in the entertainment industry. Hank, along with his brother John, run the successful YouTube channel vlogbrothers with over 3 million subscribers. Hank’s brother, John Green, has written many bestselling young adult books including The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns. I will be eagerly awaiting the sequel to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, which does not have a release date quite yet!
Reviewed by Kristen Clothier
Catalogue link: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
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