★★★★★

There was a time where books were my primary source of entertainment. This was a very large period of my life, in fact, ranging from age 3 to 12. I was an extremely vociferous reader. But I haven’t read that much fiction in recent years. Other than the occasional Agatha Christie novel, or whatever book I was reading to impress some friend, I have pretty much stuck to non-fiction in the last 4-5 years. Hank Green (who is and was a huge part of my educational development) has made me remember and realize why I fell in love with reading in the first place. ‘An Absolutely Remarkable Thing’ is one of the most fun, exciting and unique books I’ve ever read. I usually like going into books knowing nothing about the plot, so I won’t reveal too much. But the main character of April May is such an interesting and quirk POV character that you never lose interest in the story even when it slows down in pace. I would classify it as a science fiction thriller for purely categorical purposes but in reality it’s a deep-dive into social media culture and fame and its affects on people. It handles topics like superficiality and attention-seeking behaviour in a very up-front and brutal perspective. It’s like nothing I’ve read before. Green is incredibly talented and the intricacy with which he’s built this narrative is simply impressive. There are so many subtle nuances that make each page a very engaging read. My only criticism is the ham-fisted efforts at pushing a liberal agenda in the middle of the sci-fi based autopsy of celebrity culture. My favourite supporting character is either Andy Skampt or Robin. The vilification of the right-wing is also quite annoying in some places, especially when the book preaches themes like ‘the human collective’ and ‘unity’. But I’m not going to deduct any points for things like that because they are nitpicks in what is overall a thoroughly enjoying read. Between Harry Potter books, I will be reading more fiction or just books from now on! So thank you Hank Green for making me fall in love with books all over again!