I AM IN LOVE WITH MARK WATNEY AND WE SHOULD HONESTLY JUST RENAME MARS TO MARK BECAUSE HE DESERVES THAT.

I don't even know where to start gushing about this book.

First of all. Mark. His sarcasm and self-deprecating humour literally made me laugh-out-loud and smile like a crazy person in public. I just wanted to squeeze him. He is so funny, so relatable, but also incredibly intelligent and resourceful and creative. And apparently that's my thing? I love nerds who can fix things and don't let problems drag them down too much. Who just do the impossible to survive. He is so precious. I literally love him with all my heart. He deserves the world. And more.

The story itself flows so well. I was never bored and constantly on the edge of my seat and stressed out of my mind. I also have now been converted. I love sci-fi thrillers. And I somehow like being a little anxious and terrified. Who knew? Definitely not me.

The way the story is written is so perfect. I loved the glimpses we get of what is going on back on Earth. Annie is probably one of my favourite minor characters lol and we literally deserve a whole book with her just cursing at people and storming out of meetings. I might also be in love with her cause she's a no-nonsense, will-speak-her-mind kind of woman and I just greatly admire her. I also really liked seeing the Hermes crew and what was going on through their minds during all of this. Johansson and Beck are a cute nerdy couple and I ship. The last bit of the book where the MAV and Hermes finally meet (sort of), was so intense. Seeing everything come together in the end, watching the whole world and so many countries working together to get Mark home was just so heartwarming and made me emotional.

There is a lot of science though, and while I did get some of it, most of it did go over my head. It's also hard to imagine what exactly things look like, cause I've never really seen a rover up close lol. A lot of the modifications that Mark did to the rover and trailer and the Hab etc. were still pretty easy to get the gist of though. I didn't find the science too confusing or distracting me from the actual story. The first time I tried to read The Martian, I was a bit annoyed (with myself) for not understanding everything. But honestly, you don't need to get the math or the physics. The details aren't important. It's the journey. Watching Mark go through his ups and downs made the whole book really exciting and fast paced. I really enjoyed how just when things seemed to be going well, something bad would happen. But I also loved seeing Mark figuring things out. HE IS JUST SO SMART UGH. I did have quite a few heart attacks but it was worth it.

SO EXCITED TO SEE THE MOVIE THOUGH! I am going to watch it with Gretal somehow and it's going to be great and I'm probably going to jump five feet in the air when the airlock explodes but its fine everything is fine.

4.5/5