3.3 out of 4 stars.

I am 100 percent no scientist and that was proven while I read this book. I had absolutely no idea what was going on half the time. I was able to get the basic gist that Mark Watney is a man who is stranded on Mars due to his 5 other crew mates losing him during a big wind burst. He must spend a year and a half on the planet only eating potatoes in order to survive until the ship is approved to come back and get him. Essentially the rest of the book are terms that I have no idea what they mean, science references, and mathematical equations. However, the saving grace in order to keep me hanging on while reading this gibberish to myself is that the protagonist, Mark Watney, is hilarious. Although self deprecating humor is not in my average day to day, Watney really has some great one liners. Honestly, I would encourage everyone to pick up this book just for that reason alone. It is hard to find humor in such a serious topic and a planet that has a reputation for being eery but Mark Watney smashes it!

 

This is one of my shorter reviews because it is hard for me to relate to any of the topics brought up in this novel. For example, I have never dealt with space, near death experiences, or even being utterly alone for that many days! Of course I believe some of the best books are when you are reading about what you do not know about because that is how you learn and grow but this was on a way higher level than my beginner self could handle.

I say read it with the realization that it is mostly to be fun and light and try not to get too far into the jargon or you will not come out alive!