In this highly anticipated sequel to AN ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE THING, the Carls have disappeared from Earth as quickly and mysteriously as they appeared. They were robots who came here to provide guidance to earthlings so they wouldn’t destroy themselves. Their presence was comforting to some, but not to others. April May discovered them and learned to embrace them, even though there were many humans who opposed her.

"A BEAUTIFULLY FOOLISH ENDEAVOR is a bold and sharp novel that will keep readers on their toes and fully engaged..."

When the Carls vanished, so did April. Almost everyone presumed she was dead, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Her dearest friend, Maya, refused to give up hope that she could still be alive. When the two stumble across each other unexpectedly, their lives are both in jeopardy. Another robot, one with evil intent, is well on its way to controlling a large portion of the population through a virtual reality program that is highly addictive, creating value for the robot but not for the user. If it's successful, will earthlings even survive? And if they do, what will life be like?

Hank Green’s writing is fast-paced and exciting, filled with drama as well as an abundance of technical information about AI (artificial intelligence) and other topics related to computers and virtual reality. He also touches on love, betrayal, gender and sexuality, and politics. Some of the occurrences in the story are loosely related to today’s political climate.

Green excels at providing backstories for his characters, which newcomers will especially appreciate. However, it would be best for those who have not read AN ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE THING to do so before delving into this one. Sometimes it was a bit difficult to figure out exactly how certain events that were unfolding here related to the original story.

Still, A BEAUTIFULLY FOOLISH ENDEAVOR is a bold and sharp novel that will keep readers on their toes and fully engaged, eager to discover how it all ends and keeping their fingers crossed for a third installment in the not-too-distant future.