Hank Green is intensely interested in the internet. He and his brother, John (author of The Fault in Our Stars), grew famous through their Vlogbrothers YouTube channel and their related productions, charities, music, and overall internet presence. Fittingly, Green’s debut novel is all about internet fame.

The novel begins with April, a composite of stereotypes (Millennial, cash-strapped, New York City-dwelling start-up company employee), stumbling across a giant, robot-like statue in the early hours of the morning. After convincing her best friend to film a mock interview between herself and the unresponsive presence, dozens of identical statues appear across the world, and April becomes an overnight global sensation.

The parallels to Green’s life are abundant: the novel’s protagonist, April, shoots to fame through YouTube, then starts leveraging other social media sites to cultivate her brand. She must decide how to understand and use her new-found stardom.

The plot drew me in, but it was hard to overcome the narrator’s voice. It is written from April’s perspective, in the authentic millennial voice of a woman in her early 20s, used to writing streams of consciousness on Tumblr or delivering them on YouTube. I understand this writing style; but it doesn’t read as eloquently as you feel it should. Its political message was also heavy-handed.

But having said that, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing did turn out to be a fair page-turner, and I’m excited to hear that Green has a sequel in the works.

Reviewed by Gabriella Bate