Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir - 5 stars and a heart

[Barbara M]

I think this will be a favorite for this year. Andy Weir's books always get me - I'm not a science person and he puts so much science into his books but it doesn't put me off. On the contrary, in spite of how much he describes, I find it approachable (though not necessarily understandable, if you know what I mean).

I loved The Martian but I might love this one more or at least as well. Ryland Grace is a middle school science teacher. He loves his work with the kids, I wish I'd had someone like him when I was in school. However, he wasn't always a teacher, he's definitely a scientist. He found his love of teaching when his opinions about science got him into trouble. In his free time, he's discovered something that will have a very negative impact on earth's survival. We don't really learn much about this because most of the history of Grace (he's usually referred to by his last name) comes out in flashback vignettes.

Ryland Grace wakes up on a spaceship with absolutely no memory of how he got there. His memory returns in bits and pieces. What he does know is that he wasn't alone on this vessel, there were two other astronauts. So, much like The Martian, he is alone - for a time. I love that he makes a connection with an alien being. Weir has created the most wonderful species in Rocky. They have so much to overcome to begin to understand each other and Weir makes it very believable, at least for me but I'm a bit naive!

In looking at the internet, I see that there is a movie project in the works. I hope they do as well with it as they did with The Martian.

I started this book in September but couldn't get it finished before it was due back at the library and there was a long reserve list. When I finally got it back, I was like Grace, with no good memory of what had happened during my first reading. I picked it up where I left off and was completely into the book without a misstep - it's that good. It all came back to me.

[NancyJ]

Great review. I really enjoyed this one too. I loved the idea of a teacher in space, and I thought the author did a great job of showing the reader the incremental process of science in action. Rocky was great, and I love d the ending. My memory gets foggy sometimes so if I have to stop in the middle of the book, I can't just pick up from where I left off. I go right back to the beginning, but I skim or put the audio on high speed until I hit something I didn't remember.