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An Absolutely Remarkable Thing  By  cover art

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

By: Hank Green
Narrated by: Hank Green, Kristen Sieh
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Publisher's summary

In his much-anticipated debut novel, Hank Green - cocreator of Crash Course, Vlogbrothers and SciShow - spins a sweeping, cinematic tale about a young woman who becomes an overnight celebrity before realising she's part of something bigger, and stranger, than anyone could have possibly imagined.

The Carls just appeared. Coming home from work at three a.m., 23-year-old April May stumbles across a giant sculpture. Delighted by its appearance and craftsmanship - like a 10-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 centre 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.

Compulsively entertaining and powerfully relevant, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing grapples with big themes, including how the social Internet is changing fame, rhetoric and radicalisation; how our culture deals with fear and uncertainty; and how vilification and adoration spring from the same dehumanisation that follows a life in the public eye.

©2018 Hank Green (P)2018 Orion Publishing Group

Critic reviews

'A fun, contemporary adventure that cares about who we are as humans, especially when faced with remarkable events' Kirkus

'An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is pure book joy' Lev Grossman, number one New York Times bestselling author of the Magicians Trilogy

'Fun and full of truth. To be honest, I'm a little irritated at how good the book is. I don't need this kind of competition' Patrick Rothfuss, number New York Times bestselling author of The Kingkiller Chronicles

What listeners say about An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

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Wow!

Holy shitballs Hank! You should be so proud. This was an amazing story and it was told so well. Kudos.

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6 people found this helpful

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If you wanna have a good time (just give me a Carl?)

Holy shitballs! Sorry, I just finished reading and am still a bit caught up in the story. It’s a really exiting, can’t-put-it-down kind of book.
What I like most about it however is that it is the kind of art that helps you (or at least helped me) to think about and interact with complicated and heavy subjects. I’m glad so many people will read it because I’m gonna need to find someone to talk with about it all. It feels like a important book in how It could not have been written in any other time than now. Not just because of technology, but because of the challenges specific to our time.
And I liked the characters.
Glad I read it.

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3 people found this helpful

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DFTBA!

If you liked Sleeping Giants you're gonna love this book. It's entertaining and a great read

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So so so good

Wonderful story, only improved by its reading by Kristen and Hank. Jumping right into the sequel.

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Absolutely Remarkable!

This is my second time through the book and it was every bit as captivating as the first time. I’ve got through it in just a few days, which is crazy for me, but I could not put it down (metaphorically). Well and truly my favourite book. Thank you Hank for this amazing book

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It's not about what it's about

So you'd better read it or listen to it to find discover the truth for yourself.

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Read it, then listened to it, then listened again.

Loved it. Keenly anticipating the sequel, A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor.
Hank does story better than John. John writes character better.

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Fun story!

Truly Remarkable...

This story is so simple yet so entertaining and riveting. I loved the fact that it was told from a first-person view. It certainly enhanced the experience. This was my first novel by Hank Green and I should say I'm impressed with his writing style. It was an unpredictable ending for me and I also enjoyed that he included modern social aspects in his story such as LGBT characters and social media.

The narrator Kristen Sieh was fantastic. One of the best female narrators I have ever listened to!

Overall, this is a great and entertaining story. Highly recommended.

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Good book, well read.

I enjoyed Hank's writing, probably more than his brother's even. Nice sci-fi book, can't wait for the sequel.

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My poor heart

This book came as a balm to me. I have a twitter account where my opinions are weapons to toss at people with the wrong ones. It’s easy to forget that we’re all just trying to get by. Thanks to April May and the Carls, maybe I’ll be able to remember more often. This is hope punk.

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