Thank you to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group. for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
April May just wants to go home, it’s 3am in New York City and she’s been working all day. When her metro card stops working she realises she’s going to have to make the trek back to work however her journey is taken in another direction and she finds herself stumbling across a giant sculpture. Amazed at its appearance and craftsmanship – to her it looks like a ten-foot-tall Transformer wearing a suit of samurai armour – April calls her friend Andy and the two make a video which is then uploaded to YouTube. The next day April wakes to a viral video and a new life that she never imagined.
The sculpture, or Carl as April named him has appeared in dozens of cities around the world with no one having any idea how they got there. April finds herself at the centre of an international media spotlight and April is quick to seize the opportunity that is provided to her.
April not only has to deal with the repercussions of her new found fame but all eyes are on her to figure out just what the Carls are and what they are after.
I was very hesitant going into this book. This is Hank Green’s first novel and I was scared it wouldn’t live up to the high expectations that I had given it. I also wasn’t too sure about the concept of this book but oh my god this is now one of my favourite books of all time.
This book is so different to a lot of the ones I’ve read. The story is told by April who is retelling her experiences and even criticising her former self. For me the main message of this book was that in situations that are so unknown to us its important to come together and work alongside each other and it’s something April discovers in this book.
I also liked the importance of addiction to fame and social media which is a main focus of this book. April becomes so consumed with the idea of fame and what she can achieve with it that her relationships are shoved to the back burner. However she doesn’t even really seem to notice or care because she’s so infatuated with fame.
Overall I really loved this book and honestly I’m still in a state of shock. The characters were developed so brilliantly and I found myself really liking April despite her flaws. I’m so glad there is going to be another book because I need more of this world in my life.
Rating: 5/5*
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