The Martian by Andy Weir [2011]

Yes! Officially one of my many favorite books!!
Of course not without its little flaws. There is a lot of technical jargon in this book. That's not a bad thing, but for most of the population who are not scientists, it's a little hard to get through the paragraphs upon paragraphs of science talk. But as I said before, the witty narration and the sheer likability of the characters makes it totally worth skimming some paragraphs. And I found his problem solving process utterly fascinating!
There is a lot of crude language and occasional crude humor in this book though, so be warned.

Ahem, now with the ranting!!
Mark Watney is a terrifically fun and relatable hero. Despite the fact that he is a brilliant scientist, he feels just like a normal guy, like someone you could totally be buddies with! The story is mostly told through his 1st person mission logs, and he is funny! I'll put some of my favorite quotes down at the bottom of the review! I like his teammates too, and the other characters down at NASA. The Media-Relations lady, Annie, is hilarious. And I liked Rich, he called the covert briefing 'Elrond', ahahaha! Nerd!

This is a wonderful story of determination and endurance. It's incredibly positive without being insufferably so. The optimism is of a reasonable sort, one that prepares for the worst but keeps striving for the best.

Favorite quote time!!

Actually, I was the very lowest ranked member of the crew. I would only be 'in command' of the mission if I were the only remaining person.
What do you know? I'm in command.

It was a ridiculous sequence of events that led to me almost dying, and an even more ridiculous sequence that led to me surviving.

LOG ENTRY: SOL 11
I wonder how the Cubs are doing.


H--- yeah, I'm a botanist! Fear my botany powers!!

I suppose I'll think of something. Or die.

Firstly, hydrazine is some serious death. If I make any mistakes, there'll be nothing left but the "Mark Watney Memorial Crater" where the Hab once stood.

Things are finally going my way. In fact, they're going great! I have a chance to live after all!
[the very next log entry]
I am f-----, and I'm going to die!

The time has come (ominous musical crescendo) for some missions!

I guess you could call it a failure, but I prefer the term 'learning experience'.

All around me there was nothing but dust, rocks, and endless empty desert in all directions. The planet's famous red color is from iron oxide coating everything. So it's not just a desert. It's a desert so old it's literally rusting.

By my reckoning, I'm about 100 kilometers from Pathfinder. Technically is the 'Carl Sagan Memorial Station'. But with all due respect to Carl, I can call it whatever I want. I'm the King of Mars.

I don't want to come off as arrogant here, but I'm the best botanist on the planet.

The Verdict: A+
This book is so much fun to read, and it's hard to put down because as soon as one problem gets ironed out, another one pops right up! So sit back and enjoy the rather stressful, but incredibly optimistic and can-do ride!

Content Advisory: Waaayyy too much language, and the occasional crude humor. Aside from that, nothing else.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card [1985]

Earth was the constant noise of crickets and winds and birds. And the voice of one girl, who spoke to him out of his far-off childhood.

Wow! I read a Sci-Fi novel, and I actually loved it! Not just liked, but loved. This book isn't perfect. There are a few things that I don't like about it, but it is certainly a worthwhile read. Let me just throw it out here that this book does have language and a little crass talk. Just because I really liked the book does not mean that I approve of all that.
This review will have spoilers, but it's been out for ages, so I'm not pulling out the angry red font.
So. I really liked the writing in the book. The author is really good at really making you feel the way the character does. A lot of people say that Ender is a boring, static character, but I really liked his character arc. All through the book, Ender is afraid that he is like his psychopathic brother, Peter.
It's true, when Ender is confronted by an enemy (like bullies, or the weird giant thing in those computer games) he doesn't pull punches, he practically eliminates the threats so they can't hurt him anymore.
Then at the end of the book, his worst fears are practically confirmed when he is tricked into destroying the bugger's homeworld. But then, he finds that last egg or something from the last queen bugger, and sets out on a mission to find a place where the egg an hatch and thrive. The book ends with the line "He searched for a long time."
 I'm doing a poor job explaining this, but I'm trying to lead up to my point. I have a friend at college (one of the two people who recommended the book to me!) who thinks that the ending was setting up the sequels, but I actually think that it was a really good ending for the story.
There are a lot of books that just kind end, with absolutely nothing resolved. These kinds of books are very unsatisfying to read, and kind of wreck the book even if you feel like the rest of it was well plotted and such.
Then there are book that end with some of the plotlines still dangling, but emotionally, philosophically, and thematically, the story is over. Are you guys picking up what I'm putting down? I'm thinking about books like The Brothers Karamazov or The Road. Books where yes, there are still things that are unknown, and maybe you don't know if everything will be okay, but the characters have found- I hate to say this because it sounds really stupid- inner peace. You know, emotionally, the story is resolved and you maybe don't need to know what happens next.
Maybe I'm just silly or something, Je ne sais pas.
Anyhoo, something I really liked about this book was that the hero's most important female relationship is with his sister, Valentine (who is also a really interesting character!). Not with some half-baked love interest, but with his sister. Their dynamic is very well-written.

The Verdict: A
I didn't expect this book to make me cry, but I almost did at the ending. This book is well written and well plotted, and it kept my attention very well all throughout. This book is quite deep, and pondered some interesting questions, and I can't wait to read it again sometime next year. ;) I don't know if I'll be reading the other books because the ending of this one just seemed so 'right' to me.

Age Appropriateness: 14+
There's some cussing and crass talk, and a few borderline-disturbing scenes.

The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells [1898]

No one would have believed, in the last years of the nineteenth century, that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns as they were scrutinized and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a  microscope might scrutinize the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. With infinite complacency men went to and fro over this globe about their little affairs, serene in their assurance of their empire over matter.
-Book 1: The Coming of the Martians, Chapter One: The Eve of War

Let's give the book credit, it has a pretty cool opening paragraph.
But the rest of the book isn't that great. Forgive me for disliking a classic, but yeah. It's bound to happen.
First off, I don't really like this juvenile Mr. Wells' tone! What I got from this book was that he doesn't particularly like humankind. I'm not an optimist, my friends will attest to that. But while I always expect the worst to happen, I try to be idealistic when it comes to humanity. As a Catholic, I believe that we were created in God's image, and that our true purpose is to Know, Love, and Serve God. In other words, our true purpose is noble and good. We do horrible things (I agree with you on that, Mr. Wells) but we aren't scum.
Now that I've gotten that gripe out of my way, I can get on with my other gripes. Yay!
I didn't like the characters that much. I know that this is a stylistic choice, but narrating in the first person without giving your main character so much as a name is a writing style that is very off putting. To me, at least. As a reader, I feel like I need somebody to hold onto. When your characters are card-board cutouts with barely any personality there isn't that much to hold onto, and quite frankly? I don't care whether or not they die!

The Verdict: D
I should cut the book a little more slack for ending with a nice, hopeful note. But this book, I don't know what it is, but Wells' writing style must've rubbed me the wrong way because I don't think I'll ever take the trouble to read this book again. :P

But now I have guilt for posting something so negative and mean. Nobody likes having their day bogged down by the dark cloud that is my bad attitude. Have a cute animal! Axolotl time!

Adorable baby Axolotls.