She loves getting more followers, loves feeling like she now has a “voice,” and reports candidly (and repeatedly) about how fame changes her for the worse. Pretty soon April is an internet celebrity, and it goes to her head. The video goes viral, in part because these “Carls” have also appeared all over the world in other cities, but that fact had gone unregistered until April brought it to everyone’s attention. This novel is about 23-year-old April May, who seems to be part Hank Green himself, and part a really obnoxious, conceited young woman who needs to grow up – and, I can’t resist adding – shut up…Īpril, coming home from work late one night in New York City, encounters a gigantic metal sculpture on the sidewalk, which she describes as “a 10-foot-tall Transformer wearing a suit of samurai armor.” Since she is interested in art, she decides to ask her BFF Andy to help her record a video about appreciation for the sculpture she names Carl. I thought passages were very good, but in some sections, I wanted to shout, “Okay already! Let’s have some editing!” Hank might have a way to go yet, although he shows promise with this book. John has already proven he is also an excellent novelist. Best surprise of all is Green’s final-chapter cameo as Andy – surely a setup promise of more to come.The talented brothers John and Hank Green are smart, insightful, and funny. Sieh expertly adapts to a growing cast, increasingly distanced as April’s roommate-lover, barely controlling the excitement as Berkeley scientist Miranda, tightly efficient as assistant Robin she’s especially memorable as April’s wide-eyed Midwest parents, the totally-LA agent, their internet nemeses. Walking home late in Manhattan, April notices a mysterious sculpture and coerces buddy Andy to join her in the wee hours to make a video about the behemoth she names “Carl.” By the time she wakes, the video’s gone viral, Carls have been discovered in every major international city, and April and Andy are the current “it” (non) couple. Post-college, she hasn’t quite matured out of teenage angst, but she has all the signs of young adult arrogance – at least as she manipulates presents her public persona. Hank, famous already as half of YouTube’s multimillion-subscribed “ Vlogbrothers,” ascends the bestsellers’ platform with this novel debut, in which he inarguably writes what he knows: social-media-fueled fame.Īudio seems an ideal format for Green’s media-savvy fans, and versatile Kristen Sieh effortlessly modulates the many personas of April May (yes, really). Neither Green brother is untouched by fame.

An absolutely remarkable thing 2