A review by crimsoncor
Before Mars by Emma Newman

5.0

I can't tell if I liked this more or less than After Atlas. They are both so similar and yet so different; both are incredible. Here we have a supremely unreliable narrator, a narrator who doesn't even trust they can trust even themselves. And yet, again, the broken parts of the main character are also some of what propels them to the end. As Newman points out in the afterwards, we almost never get the people in books for whom being a parent is a struggle not a joy. Sure, lots of books about people who struggle to provide for their families but not people for whom the desire for the child is a struggle. Nice to see that done so well here. Reminded me a bit of [b:Six Wakes|28962996|Six Wakes|Mur Lafferty|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1483175828l/28962996._SY75_.jpg|46869174] as well.