In the spirit of full disclosure, I used to work part-time for a company Hank Green owns. I bought this book for myself, however, with a preorder that predated the job.

4.5 stars

Why you may not like this book: This is a sci-fi book that is character driven and focused so that the sci-fi element, and ultimately the mystery of the story, takes more of a back seat. This has a very strong conversational tone. April May's voice as a person very much informs how this story is told, and that sort of chatty style might not work for everyone. Finally, April May is exceptionally human-- she's messy and flawed and makes some bad choices. I've seen a lot of people refer to her as horrible or unlikable or whatever else, which I think is truly missing the entire point of what this book says about humanity. However, be aware that April May IS flawed and her flaws include a penchant for sabotaging relationships. She centers herself a heck ton in the middle of this story, a fact that affects not only the story and her relationships, but how the story is told: through the narrow lens of an almost unreliable narrator with some hindsight.

Why I loved this book: After I got the book, I decided to splurge and buy the audiobook, and I'm so happy that I did. Kristen Sieh did a great job as April May and this is a story written in a way that enjoys being read aloud. I think I also benefited from putting that distance between Green's voice and April May's voice. There are so many thoughts about life, the goodness of people, fame and humanity here that scream Hank Green (obviously, and as they should) that having Kristen Sieh be the one to deliver those thoughts was great.

I enjoyed the Carl stuff and I think it worked well as a backdrop and catalyst, one that remained fun and interesting even on reread. Obviously the alien statues are not "realistic," however, I found all of the different ways people reacted to them very realistic. I could see things playing out how Green depicted. To that end, I loved much of what Green says about fame, having a platform, power dynamics, humanity and also messing up a lot. It's introspective and coming-of-age-y, two things I love. Some might find the messages too heavy handed, but it fits to me in a time where everything is politicized and also on fire.

I loved April May. I'll challenge any one who calls her unlikable because I think she's shown as incredibly likable if flawed. You know, as humans tend to be. Some of the other characters felt a little under-developed compared to April May, but it's to be expected in a story so closely following our main character and in which one of her main flaws is a bit of taking her friends for granted. She's funny and smart and gets caught up in such a big thing that I feel for how she loses herself in it and how it highlights the not so great parts of her.

This is a great debut, one that holds up to reread, and one that lives strongly in my memories and feelings.

[October 18, 2018] Original read. Marked 4 stars.

[July 20, 2020] Marking for reread. Marked 4.5 stars.

[September 2021] Marking for reread. I never say a book is my favorite until I've reread it and I think it's safe to say that this is one of my favorites.