An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

Book 63 of my 2019 Reading Challenge

read from September 12 - 23

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

by Hank Green

Summary (via Goodreads)

published 2018

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.

My Opinion

5 stars

This 5 star rating crept up on me because I wasn't over-the-top raving about it in my head as I was reading but when I got to the end I realized I hadn't taken any notes because I was so invested in reading it, I didn't have anything negative to say about it, and I was still thinking about it even when it was over.  That equals 5 stars to me.

I appreciate the acknowledgements of having others help him because it really didn't feel like "white male trying to capture young bisexual woman" which is pretty impressive.  I loved the description of her trying to appear casually sexy to someone coming over by putting on a "tank top that was a little too small and sleeping pants that were a little too big" - small detail that was picture-perfect.

Also, I have to throw in this quote from his acknowledgments, "I also want to thank every single person who says, "You have to read this book!" to a friend. I don't care if it's this book; I just want people to remind each other how wonderful books are. Particularly, thanks to the people who work at bookstores who do that every day - professionals who can help you find books you will love and are, get this, even better at that than computer programs."  
YES YES YES (and librarians too)!!!

Quote from the Book

"[I was freaking out] because I needed to make a decision. The kind of choice that you only get to make once and you can't take back and it makes your life totally different, and even if the path is clear, it's still deeply unsettling."