The Martian

Title: The Martian
Author: Andy Weir
Pages: 387 (paperback)
Published: October, 2014, by Broadway Books

Summary: 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?

My Thoughts: I know I don't read a lot of science fiction books, but I'll be danged if this isn't one of the best ones I've read in years. Not only was it suspenseful and action packed, but it was downright hilarious!  So I initially picked this book up because I saw the movie trailer and was completely enthralled by what I saw. However, when I started reading, it wasn't exactly what I had expected.

I had heard mostly good reviews about this book from my fellow booksellers at work as well as other book reviewers, but I don't remember anyone saying how funny it was. And oh my stars, I was actually laughing out loud at some parts! 

Even when it wasn't all about the laughs, it was a great fast-paced, un-put-down-able, sci-fi thriller and I couldn't get enough of it. The characters and plot were great and the even science made sense (I cannot tell you how relieved this made me feel), so yeah I was a happy camper when I finished this one.

My only qualm with this novel was that sometimes the science was a little over my head.  I'm not very proficient in math or physical science, so when Watney would go on and on in detail when explaining why something broke or how he managed to fix it, I kinda sorta might have skimmed a little bit through those parts. It wasn't that much of the book where I felt this lost, but when it occasionally happened I would skim to the bottom of the page to see what was going to happen next.

That didn't take away from the book much at all, though. I feel like people of pretty much all science backgrounds can understand what's going on because Andy Weir did a good job of explaining the details and cutting the fat so you weren't inundated with a new and complicated science lesson every time you turned the page. 

So far it looks like this book is going to be on my list of top 5 favorite books I've read in 2015, and I seriously cannot wait until the movie adaptation comes out in October, like I already plan on dragging anyone willing to witness this movie with me because I gots to share the love. Let me know what you thought of The Martian in the comments below or if you plan on reading it!
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Fire with Fire

Title: Fire with Fire
Authors: Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian
Series: #2 in the Burn for Burn series
Pages: 517 (hardcover)
Published: August, 2013, by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
(All links below lead to it's respective Goodreads' page unless otherwise specified)

Summary: Lillia, Kat, and Mary had the perfect plan. Work together in secret to take down the people who wronged them. But things didn’t exactly go the way they’d hoped at the Homecoming Dance. Not even close.

For now, it looks like they got away with it. All they have to do is move on and pick up the pieces, forget there ever was a pact. But it’s not easy, not when Reeve is still a total jerk and Rennie’s meaner than she ever was before.

And then there’s sweet little Mary…she knows there’s something seriously wrong with her. If she can’t control her anger, she’s sure that someone will get hurt even worse than Reeve was. Mary understands now that it’s not just that Reeve bullied her—it’s that he made her love him.

Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, burn for a burn. A broken heart for a broken heart. The girls are up to the task. They’ll make Reeve fall in love with Lillia and then they will crush him. It’s the only way he’ll learn. It seems once a fire is lit, the only thing you can do is let it burn...

My Thoughts: What a great sequel to Burn for Burn! Even though it took me a while to finish this book, every time I picked it up I felt like I was flying through it. That might be because of the short nature of the chapters but I think it's mostly because the plot was always moving and never felt stagnant.

I think I might have said this before about Burn for Burn (link leads to my book review), but when point of views change in a book, it can either work wonderfully or fail completely for me, there is no in between. The same logic, in my opinion, applies to dual authors, too. However, with these books, it's effortless. Jenny Han's and Siobhan Vivian's writing blends so seamlessly and it words so well with the multiple POVs in this series that I couldn't imagine it written any other way.

The characters were more complex and fleshed out in this book, as well. Kat and Lillian become more understanding of those that they were seeking revenge on and they were less blinded by their bloodthirsty cause.  When a character is only defined by a revenge plot, it can get boring and tired fast, so it was nice to see most of the characters shift their focus from time to time. This also led to more of a fulfilling plot, in the end.

I also loved how the series is crossing genres midway through the series, but once again, it's quite seamless. You're given a small glimpse of this crossover in the first book, but it comes to fruition in this installment.  With the new genre, comes a breath of fresh air as well as more possibilities to be surprised by the story, and I love that about these books. They always surprise me and I'm left wanting more.

The reason why this novel didn't get a 5 out of 5 stars is because it became a little predictable for me near the end, even with the genre switch and the big twist at the end. I found myself skimming those parts just so I could get on with the story. But I will definitely be continuing on with this series and reading Ashes to Ashes in the near future. I need to know what happens to this dramatic and insane trio!
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars