"The Martian"

No, this book is not about a little green alien from Mars. I can't tell you how many times I got asked that when people asked what I was reading. "The Martian", by Andy Weir, is about an astronaut that gets stranded on Mars. Alone.

Mark Watney wakes up to his space suit beeping at him and realizes that he survived the sandstorm that swept through his camp and threatened to strand his whole team on Mars. Well, not his whole team apparently, just him. Despite the hole in his side, Watney unburies himself from the sand and makes it back to his shelter where he assesses the damage done by the storm. He has no way to communicate with anyone, and his shelter is only designed to last the 31 days required for the mission. This botanist/engineer is going to have to find a way to contact Earth as well as keep himself alive against all odds.

And it really is against all odds. Anything and everything that can go wrong, does. Towards the end of the book I kept thinking, "Give the guy a break! He has already gone through all this crap he doesn't need this to go wrong too!" Mark Watney, however, has the perfect personality type to be left all alone like this and his sense of humor turns out to be is greatest ally. This is one of the best books that I have read in a while. It is thrilling, witty, suspenseful, and unique. You will fall in love with Watney's character and will be rooting for him from start to finish. If you like a good book that will keep you on your toes, then "The Martian" is just for you. 5 star rating, hands down. The only disclaimer: there is quite a bit of swearing in this book. It is definitely written for adults, so be careful is buying it as a gift. Other than that, I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did! Let me know what you think!

I received my copy of "The Martian", by Andy Weir, from Blogging For Books for this review. You can get your own copy here!