The Martian by Andy Weir

Reviewed by Angela

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Six months ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he's aliveand even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before rescue could arrive.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book! My inner math nerd rejoiced at all the calculations and science that Weir included. I'm sure many readers glossed over the technical stuff, but I love how it activated my mathematical side. The main character, Mark Watney, was a biologist/mechanical engineer with enough witty sarcasm to balance out all the problem solving required for being stranded on Mars. Weir kept the pace up, and I had a hard time putting the book down. Mark faced so many setbacks that I was kept questioning if he would survive. Weir included third person chapters that drove the story's critical theme: life is worth saving. I would recommend this book to all who love sci-fi, survival, space, and math!

Rating: 4/5 stars

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