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.

The next day April wakes up to a viral video and a new life. Delighted by its appearance and craftsmanship – like a ten-foot-tall Transformer wearing a suit of samurai armour – April and her friend Andy make a video with it, which Andy uploads to YouTube. Coming home from work at three a.m., twenty-three-year-old April May stumbles across a giant sculpture. Would you keep walking? Or do the one thing that would change your life forever? The Carls just appeared. If you came across AN ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE THING at 3 a.m. I’m not sure what still wanting to be famous after reading a cautionary tale about the devastating power of fame says about me maybe if I wasn’t so busy reviewing books for imaginary points on social media I’d be able to figure it out.In his much-anticipated debut novel, Hank Green – co-creator 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. I think a lot of its draw comes from relating to the protagonist’s hunger for attention and affirmation much of my fascination with the book came from the unsettling knowledge that I have it in me to behave exactly like April May. It’s not particularly complicated, and the fact that the writing fits the protagonist’s voice necessarily precludes the possibility of beautiful prose.

I loved this book, but I’m not sure I’d recommend it to everyone. As you read the book and watch her stumble from one disaster to the next, you can’t help but think “Yeah, this is how she’d write.” The author does a shockingly good job of blending clear and coherent writing with the stream-of-conciseness, caps-lock-loving Tumblr style to produce something that is both readable and utterly true to April May herself. I was there to watch April May self destruct under the sauron-eque gaze of the public eye, and I was not disappointed. In fact, for me the science fiction elements were the weakest part of the story. At some point there are also aliens, but that’s almost background to the actual story.

“An Absolutely Remarkable Thing,” follows April May, a walking collection of the worst millennial stereotypes, and her life after getting famous via a viral video.

An absolutely remarkable thing plot