An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green is the perfect balance of science fiction and a treatise on how fame and social media can change a person and leave them questioning who they are. Are they the persona created for the public view or are they something more?

April May was a graphic artist, working at an ok job, living with her best friend and now girlfriend. She was as normal as it gets. Then one night a giant robot appeared out of nowhere. She immediately called her friend, Andy, and they filmed April with the robot structure they named Carl, and posted it. The video became an overnight sensation when it was discovered the New York City robot was not the only one. Carls had appeared in dozens of cities all around the world and no one knew how or why. Andy and April seized the moment to play off the instant fame. They decided on a marketing scheme, reinvented April, and made it their mission to figure out the mysteries surrounding the Carls.

The genius of Hank Green’s book lies in the way he skillfully mixes such a variety of topics and messages and melds them brilliantly and seamlessly into a gem of a first novel. First, there is the science fiction thread of the book dealing with the mysterious robot structures that came out of nowhere. What are they? Why did they appear? What do they want? Are they friends or enemies?

The second thread deals with the manipulations of social media in society and what can happen to a person when they meet with instantaneous fame as a result of social media interaction.

The novel also deals with a very real issue in our society today, an us versus them mentality. When April May encounters an internet troll and engages with him, April May finds herself caught up in the rhetoric of hatred and bigotry as she advocates for what she believes the Carls represent.

There is also a personal relations aspect of the book. Intricately interwoven into the story are the people who are important in April’s life. Green follows these relationships throughout April’s ascent into fame and examines how her fame changes the relationship dynamics and how it changes April, herself.

Though this is Green’s debut novel, it reads as anything but. His language flows and his purpose never gets lost even within all the layers of content. Green already has a huge fan base from his other ventures, YouTube star, entrepreneur and philanthropist and now as he adds author to his huge resume. I predict his fan base will grow ever larger as this book goes out into the world. I know I for one can’t wait for the sequel to this debut novel because this one is “absolutely remarkable.”