Hank Green’s ‘A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor’ a moving sequel that clings to hope

Hank Green picks up where his acclaimed “An Absolutely Remarkable Thing” left off in his new follow-up “A Beautifully Foolish Forever” (Dutton, $27)

“Absolutely” centered on April May and her journey of fame after she discovers the Carls — alien robots that popped up in New York City and all over the world. April and her best friend Andy, her ex-girlfriend Maya and scientist Miranda navigate newfound fame, Internet trolls and the mysterious dreams the Carls left for all humanity to solve together.

Unfortunately, April dies at the hands of Internet trolls inspired by conservative pundit Peter Petrawicki, the Carls disappear, and so do the captivating dreams that connected billions of people.

Now, in “A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor,” the world grieves the loss of April, the Carls and the dreams, the economy crashes, and Petrawicki avoids responsibility for April’s death by building a mysterious offshore research company that becomes valued overnight at more than $1 billion.

Dutton

Green wisely allows Maya, Andy and Miranda to follow their own adventures and have their own respective chapters. Each grieves the death of April while also believing that she and the Carls are still alive.

Andy picks up on April’s fame and preaches positivity as he falls into depression until finding a mysterious book that predicts the future and leads him to believe that April might be alive.

Maya follows a string of mysteries that she is convinced somehow is connected to the Carls.

And Miranda bravely infiltrates Petrawicki’s company.

Their adventures quickly become connected to one another.

Green masterfully shows the strengths of each character while demonstrating their weaknesses when they are separated from one another, which underlines his main point: No one completes anything alone.

And in the age of social media, cancel culture and Internet fame, it turns out need each other more than ever with a new technology looming that promises what the Carls’ dreams provided for the world. But, rather than connect people, it drives them apart.

Green used the inspirations of Dungeons and Dragons and Internet culture to build a world so vividly grounded in reality that it’s sometimes hard to forget that he wrote this before the coronavirus pandemic.

“A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor” is a hopeful read that provides a “Black Mirror”-like warning of new technology without the heavy feeling of dread.

Green gives nuance to the privileges of escapism with humor and grace through main characters taking a chance on hope, even if it is beautifully foolish.

Click for an excerpt from Hank Green’s “A Beautifully Foolish Forever.”