Now a successful major motion picture, The Martian is really an inspirational story about an astronaut, Mark Watney, who manages to survive the intense environment in Mars after being abandoned on Mars due to an intense sandstorm separating him from the rest of his crew. The crew originally planned a six-month long stay to study the environment and terrain of Mars. However the mission did not go as planned as Mark was blasted away by an antenna which impaled him and left him for dead in the sandy ground. When Mark was separated, luck was fortunately on his side as a science laboratory which was launched beforehand still remained in usable condition but with low resources, not enough to sustain Mark Watney on Mars forever. Now, Mark must utilize every ounce of his knowledge as a botanist and mechanic along with basic science to hang on to life. Mark has to find a way to stay alive as scientists from two global powers, America and China, hatch a daring plan to rescue Mark while Mark’s crew also prepare to risk their lives again to rescue Mark. As top scientists in America get together to work out a plan they realize that their rockets would not be able to reach Mars in time, causing them to go to another leading world power, China, for the only rocket booster with enough power.

When I read this book, I was led on an emotional roller coaster, holding in my breath, laughing along with Mark’s sense of humor which brightens up the hopeless situation that he is in. This science-fiction novel was touching to the heart as despite all the hardships, losses, and problems, Andy Weir teaches the importance of not giving up and pushing through to the end. This book, told in multiple perspectives, was great as the plot was consistent throughout the whole book. The story taught that life is precious and nothing is impossible and that nothing is considered going too far it means saving the life of a human being. It tells a story of the importance of community and cooperation and how each person must put aside their own emotions for the good of the group. The author, Andy Weir, did a fantastic job of weaving together important life lessons along with a breathtaking and heart-racing plot that captivates readers the whole way through. Everything made sense and nowhere in the book was too boring as the plot constantly continued revealing new things that led to the development of the climax. In my opinion, a good story can make the reader connect to the characters despite having no background whatsoever to the field of knowledge. And that is exactly what I was able to do as I read through this book. Throughout countless hours of reading, I laughed along, cheering on Mark Watney as he and his sense of humor worked together to survive and hang on until help arrived. I believe that this book had great pacing, fast enough so that the story was not boring but also so that we could keep up. So the only thing that may not be favored was the strong use of profanity. However, most of this was used for comedic purposes and throughout the whole plot, the story was touching all the way. In conclusion, I would definitely recommend this book, but only to teenagers and older, as everything about the book is so well written and this book can really change your perspective on life.

Check out The Martian at the Newport Beach Public Library.