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emily_mh's review
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This was a truly fascinating book. We essentially observe the journey of a roger from construction and testing to launching and roving on Mars. I know Warga took creative liberties, but there was still scientific integrity to be found and it was these points that really intrigued me. I liked learning about what scientists are looking for on Mars, as well as what Mars is like to exist on.
If you liked WALL-E, you will adore this book. Our main character Resilience is a rover who is drawn to humans and the way they act and feel to the point where he gains more and more human attributes. He develops this quirky personality where he is simultaneously uncertain of everything, yet has buckets of gumption. Through Res’ character, Warga explores the concept of the human condition, which is something rarely tackled in middle grade yet should be attempted more! I mean, Res literally starts wondering what “going offline” (read: death) means for him. He questions what is the point of his existence if one day he might go “blank”. This was truly so striking. Res also ponders what feelings are and whether being rational or irrational (i.e. emotional) is better. I just loved his character and the journey he went on so much. The characterisation of other robots Fly, Guardian and Journey was similarly endearing.
Peppered among Res’ POV are letters to Res from a girl called Sophia, the daughter of one of the scientists who leads Res’ mission. These letters were a great addition in that they gave a human perspective on what Res was doing. They were also so emotional in and of themselves, as we see decades of Sophia’s life pass as Res is on his mission. Seeing that time pass gave a lot of weight to the narrative.
This book is slow-paced but that is not a bad thing here. The right amount of time was spent on each stage of Res’ mission, and we didn’t linger too much on the more repetitive pieces of his journey. The book is kind of structured around three (technically four) stages of the mission, and this worked well for keeping things on track.
Needless to say, I bawled my eyes out at this and would thoroughly recommend it.
Rep: Arab-American POV and SCs
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Cancer
Minor: Ableism and Medical content
Moderate: sick parent, loss of a loved one
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