The Martian by Andy Weir

The Martian by Andy Weir
Genre: Science-Fiction

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Having already seen the movie and receiving many recommendations from my peers and my English teacher, I finally decided to read this novel. I absolutely loved the story from the movie, so I was curious to see what more there was to find between the pages.

I was not disappointed. Throughout my experience reading this novel, I was never once bored, even while being bombarded with scientific talk on my anti-science ears. I have always hated science, especially chemistry, but I found the science in this book to be understandable. It was simple enough that it wasn't necessary to know exactly what they were talking about and it wasn't an overload of science. Yes, this was a science fiction novel and it was filled with science, but even I, being a lover of the arts and history, enjoyed it and was never bored to death with scientific speech.

On that same token, the science was so real that it was hard for me to remember that this novel was fiction. I would look up from reading a chapter and I would think to myself that this was such an amazing and inspiring story and oh how much do I want to meet Mark Watney.

Mark Watney's voice was so realistic and relatable, his attitude appealing and humorous. He was always so positive, so clearheaded, even when faced with unimaginable odds. I was always disappointed when I remembered he was not a real person, that I could not in fact meet Mark Watney, that we had not yet even flown past the moon, let alone to Mars' surface.

I think that is what made this novel so perfect. The humorous tone made the science bearable, and the science made the story seem real, and the story made my heart swell for all of the characters, and the characters made up the humorous tone. This, in conjunction with the spectacular movie, made this one of my favorite books to read. After reading this book, I cannot watch the movie without crying.

5 stars.