Genre: Fiction, Science Fiction, Dystopian
Rating: 9/10 (4/5 on Goodreads)
Blurb:
During the middle of the night, April May sees a statue that stops her in her tracks and she feels compelled to capture it on video. With her friend, Andy she creates a video that takes the world by storm. It turns out there are statues identical to this one in NY all over the world, which April May dubs as “The Carls”. This book takes us on an interesting look at fame, the impacts of social media, the fear of the unknown, and the human experience of forming relationships and connections– all twisted in this unique and compelling story of a world going through an Alien invasion. Trust me, this book is not what you think. I was surprised at how much I liked it!
Pros:
- Protagonist is complex and multi-faceted
- The “dreams” and the idea that people all over the world have to work together to solve them was so fucking cool. I liked the concept that people who spoke different languages, believed in different religions, and had skills in all different disciplines had to work together.
- A dystopian, alien novel that read like a YA story was pretty brilliant and totally unexpected for me
Cons:
- Protagonist sometimes behaved the way I didn’t expect a girl to think and behave. For the most part she was really well-written, but there were a few times where it seemed apparent that she was written by a man. I appreciated Hank Green’s acknowledgments section where he mentions the women that helped him write from the viewpoint of a young woman.
Musings by Michelle 