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kemptron's review against another edition
challenging
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Suicide attempt
Minor: Sexual harassment
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
miraleighv's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-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? Yes
5.0
I found this to be a devastating and breathtaking and profound examination of our existential reality amidst climate change.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment
daniellekat's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
This book sounded great in theory—Something kind of funny and not-so-casually pointing out all the ways the planet is dying, but this was just poorly executed. The writing itself wasn’t that bad but this could have used a major edit. There were some strange writing choices that I thought would pan out in the end but never did make any sense (the weird flashback scene cuts in the Kevin chapters come to mind). The characters were all awful and one dimensional. The alternating POVs was somewhat well used but by the last third of the book it was just a lot of the same repeated writing. I’m struggling to understand the author’s intention with this one, it’s left me feeling like I missed something.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Self harm and Terminal illness
Minor: Pregnancy and Police brutality
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
hanaem's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Miscarriage
Minor: Incest and Vomit
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