A review by drleonj
Girlfriend on Mars by Deborah Willis

dark funny lighthearted sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Girlfriend on Mars threw me for a loop. The first two thirds of the novel offer a lighthearted satire of modern life as we follow Kevin and Amber, two Canadian stoners, whose early promise has gotten them no further than an apartment in Vancouver where they grow and sell weed and watch movies. Amber is inspired to audition for a reality TV show whose winners will be sent in the first — and emphatically one way — manned mission to settle Mars and realize the dreams of the ‘douchebag billionaire,’ Jeff Trask, whose Ill-gotten gains are funding the enterprise. These chapters are funny and often spot on in their skewering of Tech Bros, reality tv, social media, and modern love. Then, completely out of the blue, the novel changes tone and becomes devastatingly bleak and sad. The ending is utterly gut-wrenching. I have no problem with tragic third acts, but this one is so jarring, so unexpected, and so far removed from the first two thirds that I felt as if I’d been kicked in the stomach. So, yeah, just be prepared for that, I guess?
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