An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green
Hi, I am Sarah. I am fourteen years old and an avid reader; it is one of my favorite things to do. Inspired by authors’ creations of magnificent places and surprising havens built by simple letters, I aspire to be an author and, meanwhile, nurture the love to write.
April May is a twenty-three-year-old working in design in New York City. She’s funny, sweet, charismatic, and bluntly honest. She has a regular, normal life… until she and her friend Andy, as a part-joke-part-art-appreciation video, interview a mysterious fifteen-foot-tall robot statue, whom she christens Carl.
The next morning, she is the star of a viral video. Because fifty-nine other Carls appeared overnight in sixty major cities across the globe. They are an utter enigma, and all eyes are on April, the “discoverer” of the Carls, to find out why they’re here.
April, plus a few accomplices, are curious, and begin discovering more about the mysterious, extra-terrestrial statues. Simultaneously, April enters a race to be the person who knows the most, spreads the word, builds a platform, and makes their mark on the work… and April is soon catapulted to massive, international internet fame.
Hank Green’s sciencey, other-worldly debut grapples with powerful questions about keeping sane in an intense media spotlight, retaining humanity when faced with enticing alternatives, and whether or not it’s possible for humanity to work as a cohesive whole to solve a much bigger problem when faced with it. April believes this cooperation is possible, and such is the nature of the journey she embarks on… an extra-terrestrial journey that, ultimately, is very human.
