Book Review | The Martian by Andy Weir

The Martian by Andy Weir
Published by Crown Publishing on February 11, 2014
Genres: Adult, Science Fiction, Survival
Pages: 369
Format: Paperback
Source: Giveaway
Goodreads: ★★★★

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him & forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded & completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—& even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—& a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

REVIEW

I was beyond excited when a won a giveaway for a copy of The Martian by Andy Weir. This science fiction novel has quickly been gaining recognition and gathering hype in the book community. If you haven't heard of it yet, you will soon. A movie starring Matt Damon is set to be released in November of this year. I knew I had to read this as soon as possible to avoid spoilers, and to be prepared for the film adaptation's release. 

First of all, how awesome is the premise of this book? Astronaut Mark Watney is stranded on Mars. Everyone thinks he's dead, he has no contact with Earth, and he has to figure out if there is any way possible to survive on the red planet. I was instantly sucked into this survival story, and truly amazed at Watney's ability to stay calm under dire circumstances. Plus, the guy is extremely hilarious and a lovable character. I was rooting for him from page one. Suffice it to say The Martian is an inventive and captivating story.

The writing style, however, was a bit too inventive for me. Much of the book is written by Watney in log entries detailing his days and his plans. The book starts out this way, and suddenly after fifty pages, the reader is provided with a third person narrative overlooking NASA and how they discover Watney is still alive. This jump was a bit surprising, but quite manageable. Then, things get even more unique – there are random passages that don't fit with either point-of-view. They are thrown in sporadically, and as a reader it was jarring to the cadence of the book. At times, I had to reread passages to even understand their purpose. While I can see how this experimental writing could work for some readers, I was not a fan of the passages that didn't fit within the book's writing pattern. 

In the same way, the pacing of The Martian was a bit off for me as well. At first, readers follow Watney at a steady pace. Then, all of a sudden, the story has skipped forward 150 Sols (Martian days). It was almost as if a huge chunk of the story was edited out so the publisher could shorten the book. The author does explain this time jump through Watney's log entries, but it took a bit of credibility away from the story for me – are we supposed to believe that Watney just doesn't log anything for half a year when he wrote regularly before? 

My last critique is difficult for me to even believe – I got bored. Yeah, Watney was stranded on Mars figuring out how to live and I got bored! Somewhere around the 250 page mark I was wishing the story would pick up again. I'm not sure how this happened, but for some reason the action died down in the middle. Luckily, the ending started picking up, and I raced through the last hundred pages. 

Putting those gripes aside, The Martian really is a remarkable novel. It sparks a great discussion on how far humans will go to remain alive even when things look hopeless, and how the cost of one human life is truly priceless. I loved the sappy moments throughout the story to show Watney's emotional struggle that he often tries to hide in his log entries. I also thought the ending was perfect, but you'll have to read it to see if you agree. 

In the end, I do highly recommend The Martian. Don't be afraid to pick this up if you're not a science fiction fan. I know absolutely nothing about science and found the story easy to follow even with all the technical jargon involved. In fact, I felt as if I was learning a lot while reading an entertaining book – that's a win-win right there. I look forward to more work by Weir in the future (another Watney novel would be great!). 

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Book Review | We Are Pirates by Daniel Handler

We Are Pirates by Daniel Handler

Published by Bloomsbury USA on February 3, 2015

Genres: Adult, Fiction, Contemporary, Adventure 

Pages: 289

Format: eARC

Source: NetGalley

Goodreads: ★★★★

Mega-bestselling author Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) gives us his long-awaited and most ambitious novel yet: a dark, rollicking, stunningly entertaining human comedy.

A boat has gone missing. Goods have been stolen. There is blood in the water. It is the twenty-first century and a crew of pirates is terrorizing the San Francisco Bay.

Phil is a husband, a father, a struggling radio producer, and the owner of a large condo with a view of the water. But he’d like to be a rebel and a fortune hunter.

Gwen is his daughter. She’s fourteen. She’s a student, a swimmer, and a best friend. But she’d like to be an adventurer and an outlaw.

Phil teams up with his young, attractive assistant. They head for the open road, attending a conference to seal a deal.

Gwen teams up with a new, fierce friend and some restless souls. They head for the open sea, stealing a boat to hunt for treasure.

We Are Pirates is a novel about our desperate searches for happiness and freedom, about our wild journeys beyond the boundaries of our ordinary lives.

Also, it’s about a teenage girl who pulls together a ragtag crew to commit mayhem in the San Francisco Bay, while her hapless father tries to get her home.

REVIEW

Sometimes I finish a book and I have no idea how to rate it. That was the case with We Are Pirates, and it took me hours of thinking upon completion of the book to be able to formulate my thoughts into words and into a star rating. Let me begin by saying this is one of the most disturbing books I've ever read, and it's classified as adult for that reason. There is violence, crude language, and some sexual content. I definitely recommend this book for mature readers only. 

We Are Pirates is a novel that I picked up purely because Daniel Handler's name was written on the cover. I've never read anything by him before, so I wanted to give his work a try. I expected a fun fantasy story about pirates, and I could not have been more wrong. We Are Pirates is the ultimate family drama. Readers follow the Needle family as an unnamed narrator is relating the story from some point in the future. The book is divided to follow dad Phil, a radio producer in a struggling marriage, as he travels to a conference with his young assistant, and his fourteen-year-old daughter Gwen in separate yet intertwining points-of-view. 

When the story begins, Gwen attempts to steal from the local drugstore, and is sentenced to one month of volunteering at a nearby nursing home. She's partnered up with Errol, a senile old man who asks Gwen to read to him from the pirate books he owns. Soon Gwen becomes enamored with the life of pirates, and decides to put together her own pirate gang and leave her family behind forever. 

We Are Pirates is separated into two parts of equal size. The first part was a bit slow-going for me, as it took me a while to get used to Handler's writing style. It reminded me of JK Rowling's voice in The Casual Vacancy, but of course the stories are quite different. Despite my reluctance at the beginning of the novel, once part two of the story began, I could not put the book down, and flew through it until the end. I will admit, however, I had to take short breaks to process the action. We Are Pirates is very heavy in substance. 

While labeled as a dark comedy, I truly saw nothing funny in We Are Pirates. I didn't laugh while reading, but instead felt shocked and sad, and I cringed a lot. I had to keep reminding myself that this book is a work of fiction because Handler does an amazing job of making the story feel real. It's an unbelievable tale, and I honestly cannot find the purpose in it besides making a comment on humanity. I questioned Handler's sanity at many points while reading We Are Pirates. Who, in his right mind, could even concoct such a tale?!

I know this review is vague and you're probably curious as to why I'm so disturbed after reading We Are Pirates. The only way to cure this is to pick up the novel and read it yourself. If you're even remotely interested in it, I recommend this read with the disclaimer that the contents may shock you. I ended up rating this book a four out of five stars as the beginning of the book was difficult to get into, but I truly did love the writing style. Handler's prose is amazingly done,  and I especially enjoyed the descriptive language and how the story is weaved together. We Are Pirates is a book that is going to stay with me for a very long time. 

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Currently Reading | February 2015

I'm the type of reader who prefers to read one book at a time. Well, sometimes that doesn't work out the way I want it to! I thought it would be fun to share with you the four (yes, four) books that I am currently reading, or about to start reading this weekend.

The Master of Misrule (The Game of Triumphs, #2) by Laura Powell

The first book I'm reading is the sequel to The Game of Triumphs, which I just reviewed HERE. This is the second book in a young adult, urban fantasy duology. I'm really enjoying this world, which co-exists with current day London. It's so cool how the author created a game using Tarot cards. I never know what is going to happen next, so it's really fun to turn the pages and discover what our characters will be mixed up in, in the next chapter.

Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman

This is a short story collection that I got for review from Edelweiss. I've never read any Neil Gaiman before, so I was excited for the opportunity to review Trigger Warning. I've been reading a story or two before I go to bed, and I have to say I'm surprised so far. The stories are really well written, and I quite enjoy Gaiman's voice. However, even though they may be weird and creepy, none of the stories so far have required a trigger warning. I'm easily scared, so that's saying something! I'm interested to see how the stories continue.

Finding Harry Styles by GB Hope

You're probably wondering why I'm reading a book with the name Harry Styles in the title. Well, I saw this book on NetGalley and just had to grab it. I laughed at the cover, and figured it would be a fun contemporary about a huge One Direction fan. Boy, was I wrong! This is a post-apocalyptic story where all of a sudden, the power goes out, all cars stop running, and people go crazy. I'm about 25% through this Ebook, which I'm reading on my commute when the trains are quiet. It's not great, but I'm interested to see what's going to happen!

Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher and William Ury

Last but not least, I will be picking up Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In this weekend. One of my professors gave the class brand new copies of this book and is requiring us to read it. I'm actually quite excited to pick this up, because I've heard great things about it. Everyone could use some good negotiation skills, so definitely pick this up if you're looking to talk your way into a lower price for that new car, or a higher wage for your new job!

Those are the four books that I'm currently reading! I don't know when I'll be finishing any of them, but you will definitely see reviews for each book upon completion. Please let me know what you are currently reading in the comments!

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Book Review | An Italian Wife by Ann Hood

An Italian Wife by Ann Hood
Published by W. W. Norton & Company on September 2, 2014
Genres: Adult, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Contemporary
Pages: 288
Format: ARC
Source: Goodreads Giveaway
Goodreads: ★★★★

An Italian Wife is the extraordinary story of Josephine Rimaldi—her joys, sorrows, and passions, spanning more than seven decades. The novel begins in turn-of-the-century Italy, when fourteen-year-old Josephine, sheltered and naive, is forced into an arranged marriage to a man she doesn't know or love who is about to depart for America, where she later joins him. Bound by tradition, Josephine gives birth to seven children. The last, Valentina, is conceived in passion, born in secret, and given up for adoption.

Josephine spends the rest of her life searching for her lost child, keeping her secret even as her other children go off to war, get married, and make their own mistakes. Her son suffers in World War I. One daughter struggles to assimilate in the new world of the 1950s American suburbs, while another, stranded in England, grieves for a lover lost in World War II. Her granddaughters experiment with the sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll in the 1970s. Poignant, sensual, and deeply felt, An Italian Wife is a sweeping and evocative portrait of a family bound by love and heartbreak.

REVIEW

I was extremely excited when I won An Italian Wife from Goodreads. I'm half Italian, and grew up surrounded by Italian culture. My grandma is one of fourteen children, so I'm familiar with the food and traditions that come with being an Italian-American. I could thus relate to the characters in An Italian Wife, and I think that is one reason why I found this story so emotionally beautiful. 

Hood is an amazing storyteller. Her writing is compelling, her characters are well-crafted, and her settings are pristinely described. I found An Italian Wife to be so interesting because of the dramatic events inside each chapter. I felt every emotion while reading this book – shock, sadness, happiness, relief, heartbreak, and so on. There is no denying that An Italian Wife is a great story, and one that I would definitely read again.

That being said, I did have a few problems with the organization of the book. The story is told in the third person, with the book being broken down into three parts, each based on a generation of Josephine Rimaldi's family.  In the first part, readers follow Josephine as she is married off as a teenager and moved to America where she begins her family. This first section is dedicated to Josephine, and then her children. Time flies by quite quickly, and I had to try to calculate the years in my head. 

Next, the second and third parts of An Italian Wife follow Josephine's grandchildren and great-grandchildren respectively. Each chapter will focus on a different character. We hear that person's story and learn about his or her life before moving onto the next family member. On the one hand, I really enjoyed this style of writing because I got to meet each of Josephine's family members on an individual basis. On the other, it was frustrating to become attached to a character only to have that person's story end on a cliffhanger and never find out what becomes of him or her. Overall, this organizational structure was quite difficult to get used to, but I did come to like it in the end. 

In addition, I was often confused by the characters in the book, and had to keep referencing the family tree in the front of the novel. This is because many characters have a nickname that is used interchangeably with his or her real name. Hood also assumes that readers will understand that "Mama Jo" is "Josephine" later on in the book without any explanation. I definitely would have appreciated, if not less characters, less nicknames. 

In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed An Italian Wife despite my problems with the novel's organization and confusing cast of characters. The story is just beautifully laid out, and I found it extremely touching. This is a book I would love to see adapted as a television program, as it would last several seasons thanks to the decades it spands and the great characters it follows. Producers take note!

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Book Review | Best to Laugh by Lorna Landvik

I've really been loving the contemporary genre this summer, so I was excited when I got the opportunity to read an advance copy of Best to Laugh by Lorna Landvik through NetGalley. I absolutely love the bright colors on this cover, and the microphone hinted that this book would feature a stand-up comedian in some way. I was right!

Best to Laugh is the story of Candy, a young, twenty-something from Minneapolis who gets the opportunity to sublet her cousin's apartment in Los Angeles. She decides to take a risk and move to Hollywood, as she recently graduated from college and is unsure where her life is going. When she gets to LA, Candy takes on some interesting temp jobs, but she soon realizes that she wants to go into comedy. Readers follow Candy as she makes that dream become a reality.

Told in the first-person from Candy's point-of-view, Best to Laugh is a beautifully written story that actually feels like a real life memoir at some points. In fact, I was so connected with the characters in this book that I wanted them to be real! I was hooked into this story in the first few pages, and was amazed at how captivating Landvik's writing is. The cast of characters was really what made this story. Sometimes, a book with many characters can become confusing, but that is not the case here. Landvik does an excellent job of developing each of the side characters just enough so that the reader can get to know them, and appreciate the role each character has in Candy's life.

I think part of the reason I was able to connect with this book so much is because I can relate to Candy. While we are different people in different time periods (this story begins in 1978), I'm also a recent college graduate who's just trying to find her place in the world. Best to Laugh is motivating in that it reminds readers that it's okay to not know where you're going – you can discover a great life even when you don't expect it!

Overall, I absolutely loved Best to Laugh. It is a thoroughly enjoyable read, and I cannot stress how superb the writing style is. I rated this a full five stars on Goodreads, and recommend it to anyone who loves contemporary novels or a good coming of age story.

Best to Laugh will be available for purchase on September 15, 2014, and is available for pre-order on Amazon HERE.

This books was provided for my unbiased review. I use Amazon Affiliate links so you can find the books I mention easily. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.