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Maja Nikolic
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AN ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE THING

Hank Green

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 realizing 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., 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.

Compulsively entertaining and powerfully relevant, AN ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE THING grapples with big themes, including how the social internet is changing fame, rhetoric, and radicalization; how our culture deals with fear and uncertainty; and how vilification and adoration spring from the same dehumanization that follows a life in the public eye.

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Published 2018-09-25 by Dutton (Penguin Random House)

Comments

“[Green] applies wit, affection, and cultural intelligence to a comic sci-fi novel. . . . A fun, contemporary adventure that cares about who we are as humans, especially when faced with remarkable events.” – Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Funny, thrilling, and an absolute blast to read. I knew Hank would be good at this, but I didn’t know he would be this good on the first try.” – John Scalzi, New York Times bestselling author and Hugo Award winner

“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, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Kingkiller Chronicle

“Green makes an entertaining book debut in this fast-paced, witty first contact novel… At once funny, exciting, and a tad terrifying, this exploration of aliens and social media culture is bound to have wide appeal to readers interested in either theme.” – Booklist (starred review)

“Led by an earnestly flawed, bisexual heroine with direction and commitment issues, coupled with an abundant generosity of spirit, this read is timely and sorely needed. Highly recommended.”

– Library Journal (starred review), Fall 2018 Best Debut Novels

“This is the book my teen self would have loved, and my adult self immediately obsessed over. I turned the pages of AN ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE THING so quickly the pads of my thumbs were worn smooth by the time I finished it. It provokes the mind, tickles the spirit, and April May is the terribly relevant young protagonist we’ve been waiting for.”


“You’re about to meet somebody named April May who you’re immediately going to want to be best friends with. And bonus, she spends all her time having incredible adventures with giant robots and dream puzzles and accidental Internet fame. AN ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE THING is pure book-joy.”

– Lev Grossman, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Magicians Trilogy