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alannashelfhelp's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Infidelity, Mental illness, Child death, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Fatphobia, and Suicide attempt
kimu's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
2.5
This feels like two very different books mashed together, but maybe that was the goal? The cover art is a really bad choice for the themes of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use and Child death
Minor: Miscarriage
ejdecoster's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Drug use
Moderate: Pregnancy and Miscarriage
emmagee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Drug use, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Grief
Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexual content, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Miscarriage
Minor: Sexism, Sexual assault, and Abandonment
wordsofclover's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Amber is going to Mars - or at least she's been selected to be a part of the final group of contestants in a show that the winners are set to jet off to Mars and begin a new human colony in outer space. Amber's boyfriend Kevin is left behind in their apartment, with all their stuff and the pot plants they meticulously cared for, watching his girlfriend fight for her chance to leave him and everyone else on Earth behind.
This was a fun, light-hearted novel with some serious themes around climate change and remembering that while Mars exploration is a dream many have, in reality we only have one planet and we need to care for it better.
I enjoyed Amber's time on the show and all the over the top challenges she had to compete in to seemingly make living on Mars easier for them - when it turned out that those who would go to Mars would always be criminally underprepared as they weren't actually trained NASA astronauts. I loved the caricature of Geoff Task - the billionaire businessman who was behind the MarsNow project and it wasn't too hard to think about who he could be based on.
Kevin's POV was a real shift and 'other side of the coin' to Amber - where Amber was driven and focused on her goal to get to Mars, Kevin was pretty listless and while a nice guy, his lack of drive or goals was a real turn off and you couldn't always blame Amber for so happily leaving Kev behind. His chapters got a bit frustrating after a while as he just wasn't doing anything to help his situation - I of course wanted him to do a Nick Carraway and write the great Canadian novel as he mused about in his chapters but it never happened.
Near the end of the book, I thought the story dragged on a bit (and got mildly depressing truth be told). I loved the concept of this book (and love the cover), I think it just meandered a bit too much at times and the pacing could have been better. I did enjoy it though!
This was a fun, light-hearted novel with some serious themes around climate change and remembering that while Mars exploration is a dream many have, in reality we only have one planet and we need to care for it better.
I enjoyed Amber's time on the show and all the over the top challenges she had to compete in to seemingly make living on Mars easier for them - when it turned out that those who would go to Mars would always be criminally underprepared as they weren't actually trained NASA astronauts. I loved the caricature of Geoff Task - the billionaire businessman who was behind the MarsNow project and it wasn't too hard to think about who he could be based on.
Kevin's POV was a real shift and 'other side of the coin' to Amber - where Amber was driven and focused on her goal to get to Mars, Kevin was pretty listless and while a nice guy, his lack of drive or goals was a real turn off and you couldn't always blame Amber for so happily leaving Kev behind. His chapters got a bit frustrating after a while as he just wasn't doing anything to help his situation - I of course wanted him to do a Nick Carraway and write the great Canadian novel as he mused about in his chapters but it never happened.
Near the end of the book, I thought the story dragged on a bit (and got mildly depressing truth be told). I loved the concept of this book (and love the cover), I think it just meandered a bit too much at times and the pacing could have been better. I did enjoy it though!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Miscarriage, Child death, and Sexual harassment
sarahholliday's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I've seen a lot of negative reviews of this book, but I think many of them stem from a fundamental misunderstanding of what Willis set out to do with this story. What could have been a slapstick kind of satire with a Hunger Games-style competition for a spot on the first mission to Mars was instead a thoughtful and insightful rumination on belief, religion, humanism, and the varieties of trauma we carry with us from childhood to adulthood.
Amber and Kevin are both likable and unlikable in their own unique ways—you desperately want to root for them even as you want to take them by the shoulders and shake them. But that's also what makes the story compelling. Neither is entirely right or wrong in the way they see the world, or how they approach life's challenges.
If you go into this book expecting the space & sci-fi elements to take center-stage, you're going to be disappointed. But I sort of enjoyed how much Willis made them the background for the real human drama to play against. Of course, in our day and age of privatized wealth, extreme privilege, and obsession with social media, the next major space development won't have the same noble aura of NASA's previous advancements. It will be farcical and half-baked and driven by dreams of profit. And because of that it will fade into the background of our lives with the other examples of wealthy behavior that impact all our wellbeing even as they have nothing to do with our day-to-day lives.
I really enjoyed Girlfriend on Mars and am looking forward to reading more from Willis. This would make a perfect beach read for someone looking for a story at the intersection of fluff and thought-provoking.
Amber and Kevin are both likable and unlikable in their own unique ways—you desperately want to root for them even as you want to take them by the shoulders and shake them. But that's also what makes the story compelling. Neither is entirely right or wrong in the way they see the world, or how they approach life's challenges.
If you go into this book expecting the space & sci-fi elements to take center-stage, you're going to be disappointed. But I sort of enjoyed how much Willis made them the background for the real human drama to play against. Of course, in our day and age of privatized wealth, extreme privilege, and obsession with social media, the next major space development won't have the same noble aura of NASA's previous advancements. It will be farcical and half-baked and driven by dreams of profit. And because of that it will fade into the background of our lives with the other examples of wealthy behavior that impact all our wellbeing even as they have nothing to do with our day-to-day lives.
I really enjoyed Girlfriend on Mars and am looking forward to reading more from Willis. This would make a perfect beach read for someone looking for a story at the intersection of fluff and thought-provoking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Death, Body shaming, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug use, Miscarriage, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Ableism, Eating disorder, Addiction, and Fatphobia
heyitssones's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Infertility, and Death of parent
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Cancer, Fatphobia, Sexual harassment, and Pregnancy
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