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A review by mynameismarines
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green
5.0
This probably isn't necessary, but in the spirit of full disclosure, I once (years ago now) worked for a company that Hank Green owned. However, I obtained a copy of this book with my own money and idk Hank probably will never see this lol.
I LOVED THIS DUOLOGY.
Why you may not like this book: To get the obvious out of the way, if you didn't like An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, you probably won't like this. Our gang of smart, witty and sometimes messy 20-s0methings are back and in more trouble than ever. While it did feel like this was heavier on the plot than the first entry, it still felt very introspective and the thematic content was on full display. Basically, if your complaint was that AART was "heavy-handed," well this is probably also not for you.
Also, I would not personally call this heavy sci-fi, but we do take occasional beaks to SCIENCE! If you would prefer very little explanations of science in your sci-fi, you might trip up against those moments here. Generally, though, I thought this was accessible.
Why I loved this book: First, I have to say that I don't think I've ever read a more complimentary duology. A lot of the things I had quibbles about in the first book (a narrow point of view, a selfish main character flattening our supporting characters) is immediately addressed in ABFE simply by the way Green chose to deliver the story. I was immediately so excited to hear from more characters. This was always a big world and a big story, and in ABFE, we were now getting a bigger view into the story. AART: character driven and the mystery takes a back seat. ABFE: a time clock to save the world as our characters continue developing or at least reflecting on all they've learned. AART: APRIL MAY, NO. ABFE: April May! Oh no! You get the idea. These two stories don't just feel like one story cut in half. They are different things that work so well together.
One of the real accomplishments of this book is being both fun and fast paced as well as deep and thoughtful. It will be no surprise to anyone that I just absolutely loved all the thematic explorations of humanity, power, influence, capitalism and responsibility. I think that the best part is that while I felt Green's sentiments and arguments clearly defined, we also have many different characters viewing these problems and solutions in different ways and arriving at different parts of the argument. It was never as simple as MUCH POWER BAD, and we see all of our characters struggling their way through "well... how bad?"
I loved the ending. It felt incredibly complete. Well, actually, I felt a little chastised by it because in my heart I wanted more from these characters, so the ending was a beautiful way to send them off and for my heart to come to terms with their story being done. All of the characters had full arcs, which I also appreciated.
One of my favorites of the year, and definitely a series I will read again and again.
[September 2021] Marking for re-read.
I LOVED THIS DUOLOGY.
Why you may not like this book: To get the obvious out of the way, if you didn't like An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, you probably won't like this. Our gang of smart, witty and sometimes messy 20-s0methings are back and in more trouble than ever. While it did feel like this was heavier on the plot than the first entry, it still felt very introspective and the thematic content was on full display. Basically, if your complaint was that AART was "heavy-handed," well this is probably also not for you.
Also, I would not personally call this heavy sci-fi, but we do take occasional beaks to SCIENCE! If you would prefer very little explanations of science in your sci-fi, you might trip up against those moments here. Generally, though, I thought this was accessible.
Why I loved this book: First, I have to say that I don't think I've ever read a more complimentary duology. A lot of the things I had quibbles about in the first book (a narrow point of view, a selfish main character flattening our supporting characters) is immediately addressed in ABFE simply by the way Green chose to deliver the story. I was immediately so excited to hear from more characters. This was always a big world and a big story, and in ABFE, we were now getting a bigger view into the story. AART: character driven and the mystery takes a back seat. ABFE: a time clock to save the world as our characters continue developing or at least reflecting on all they've learned. AART: APRIL MAY, NO. ABFE: April May! Oh no! You get the idea. These two stories don't just feel like one story cut in half. They are different things that work so well together.
One of the real accomplishments of this book is being both fun and fast paced as well as deep and thoughtful. It will be no surprise to anyone that I just absolutely loved all the thematic explorations of humanity, power, influence, capitalism and responsibility. I think that the best part is that while I felt Green's sentiments and arguments clearly defined, we also have many different characters viewing these problems and solutions in different ways and arriving at different parts of the argument. It was never as simple as MUCH POWER BAD, and we see all of our characters struggling their way through "well... how bad?"
I loved the ending. It felt incredibly complete. Well, actually, I felt a little chastised by it because in my heart I wanted more from these characters, so the ending was a beautiful way to send them off and for my heart to come to terms with their story being done. All of the characters had full arcs, which I also appreciated.
One of my favorites of the year, and definitely a series I will read again and again.
[September 2021] Marking for re-read.