Exploring the viral phenomenon

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing: A Novel by Hank Green

Reviewed by Kristen Clothier

Hastings District Libraries

“If you came across AN ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE THING at 3 a.m. in New York City… Would you keep walking? Or do the one thing that would change your life forever?”

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 over 10 feet tall like a transformer wrapped in samurai armour.

On the spur of the moment she decides 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 who 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 three million subscribers. Hank’s brother, John Green, has written bestselling young adult books including The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns .I eagerly await the sequel to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, which does not have a release date yet.

■ For more information visit www.hastingslibraries.co.nz or phone 06 871-5000.