YA Buddy Readers' Corner ♥ discussion

The Carls just appeared. Coming home from work at three a.m., twenty-three-year-old April May stumbles across a giant sculpture. Delighted by its appearance and craftsmanship--like a ten-foot-tall Transformer wearing a suit of samurai armor--April and her friend Andy make a video with it, which Andy uploads to YouTube. The next day April wakes up to a viral video and a new life. News quickly spreads that there are Carls in dozens of cities around the world--everywhere from Beijing to Buenos Aires--and April, as their first documentarian, finds herself at the center of an intense international media spotlight.

Now April has to deal with the pressure on her relationships, her identity, and her safety that this new position brings, all while being on the front lines of the quest to find out not just what the Carls are, but what they want from us.

25% (view spoiler)[I love Hank Green's writing style, you can tell it's really him if you've ever heard him talk. Also April is going to self destruct herself and Maya, I can already tell, and I'm really curious about why this thing wants uranium? (hide spoiler)]

50% (view spoiler)[You can really feel the difference between the two brothers if you compare the writing styles here and in any John book! Also this dream thing is so frickin interesting, and I can see how this attention is going to ruin April! (hide spoiler)]

75% (view spoiler)[HE turned to JELLY? WTF? Also the audiobook narrator tries to make the president sound like Hillary Clinton and I LOVE IT! (hide spoiler)]

100% (view spoiler)[HOLY SHIT. HOLY SHIT THAT ENDING. APRIL NOOOOOOOOOOOO! I cannot believe Hank ended the book like that. I am mad and will wait for the next book furiously! (hide spoiler)]

Ritika wrote: "25% [spoilers removed]"

I agree about the (view spoiler)[April and Maya thing and that sucks x.x I hope she doesn't fall for Robin. So far, it's an intriguing story and I Hank's writing style. I wonder if the Carls are truly alien and, yeah, why would they want uranium? Can't wait to know more! (hide spoiler)]

Ritika wrote: "50% [spoilers removed]"

Yeah, I'm so hooked! (view spoiler)[ this is so bizarre and intriguing (hide spoiler)]

Ritika wrote: "75% [spoilers removed]"

I love the fact that (view spoiler)[the president is a woman! Also, everything just keeps getting weirder. I don't like April as a person, I think she's too self-centered, but she sure is a complex and well-developed character. (hide spoiler)]

Ritika wrote: "100% [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[WHAT THE FFF WAS THAT ENDING??? IS THE STORY GOING TO BE CONTINUED?? This got me hooked from cover to cover, it was super intriguing an unique and even though I have some issues with April, I really enjoyed this. BUT. Oh boy. HANK GREEN WHAT DOES THAT ENDING MEAN??? I NEED ANSWERS. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 7 (view spoiler)[ Honestly, April better not do anything to hurt Maya with Robin. Maya is so sweet. But lol to the entire pet detective bit. April is so quirky. (hide spoiler)]
Chapter 12 (view spoiler)[ Peter Petrawicki is so evil and represents everything wrong with modern society. That was a complete bumrush and April's sexuality is IRRELEVANT. (hide spoiler)]
Chapter 20 (view spoiler)[ April definitely has the power to crush Miranda so I'm not really here for that. But I can't believe the Defenders have gone so far as to stab April. In the back. In the street. The grape jelly thing is super weird though. Like why grape jelly?! (hide spoiler)]
Finish (view spoiler)[ I am having a full blown panic attack. First that is an awful way to die. But also IS SHE DEAD?! Did she zap into space with the Carls?! Who answered all her messages the night she was shot at?! (a question that still needs answers...) (hide spoiler)]

Ari wrote: "Ritika wrote: "75% [spoilers removed]"

I love the fact that [spoilers removed]"

I actually really liked April as a person because she was always hyper aware of how crappy she was being, which is really rare of people. Especially famous people. Especially famous people who aren't famous for any type of actual skill or talent worthy of fame.

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Date changed. Restarting February 3rd 2019. Happy Reading ☺

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Hello! I'm a tiny bit late but I should be getting started on this within a day or two :D

Up to chapter 5 (view spoiler)[ Similar to John Green's writing style. Very casual, conversational. It's not my favourite writing style but it's very readable. i'm liking the commentary on the internet and the lesbian rep, not sure if I'm that attached to the characters yet. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 5:
(view spoiler)[I'm glad that we're finally getting more into the sci-fi stuff and moving away from the YA contemporary.

I'll admit that I would never have picked up this book if it wasn't written by Hank Green (I freaking love Hank Green okay) since I highly dislike the YA contemporary genre, but I'm enjoying this so far.

The writing style is a tad cringy and yet entertaining, I can live with it. I'm actually unironically loving the use of internet memes.

ALIENS! (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 6:
(view spoiler)[Oh dear. Calling it now, there's going to be a scandal involving April and Robin at some point and things are going to get real bad.

I'm a little concerned about the direction of this story but I trust in Hank.

Also April's reluctance to contact Maya is way too relatable, I too enjoy putting small things off for so long that they eventually become a big problem 😢 (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 8:
(view spoiler)[Oooooooooh so this book we're reading right now is literally April's book! That's pretty cool :D

My reaction to this chapter is probably not the intended one, since I'm someone with a rather... Unfavourable view of romantic relationships. I'm interested to see how other people would view April's actions regarding Maya.

Also, I'm kinda wondering if Hank ever played the Phoenix Wright games, there's a girl named April May in it, AND one of the main characters is named Maya! (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 11:
(view spoiler)[The whole Dream thing is giving me major Ready Player One vibes.

Okay but seriously, if someone were to make an app/game of the Dream in real life, that would be so freaking cool. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 19:
(view spoiler)[I can't believe that singing Call Me Maybe is seriously an important plot point here 😂

I totally don't have that entire song memorised. (hide spoiler)]

Up to chapter 10 (view spoiler)[ I really like the analysis of fame and what it means for the famous person. I'm not sure I like April very much with how she treats Maya. It's getting interesting with the dreams though. (hide spoiler)]

Yes! I wasn't really into this book until around Chapter 10 so you're getting to the good stuff now :D

Up to chapter 15 (view spoiler)[ Woah, the Carl hand was in her apartment the whole time? And the way it saved her? So messed up. I hate Putnam for making her lie about being bisexual. (hide spoiler)]

Claire wrote: "Yes! I wasn't really into this book until around Chapter 10 so you're getting to the good stuff now :D"

It's definitely heating up now :D

Am I missing a connection between Maya and the Mayan code?