Project Hail Mary

 Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (2021, 476 pages)

Imagine you wake up on a... space ship? With a robot nurse and no idea who or where you are. You can barely move, yet your muscles haven't atrophied. You slowly start to remember the impending disaster on Earth, and what your mission is.

INSTANT classic sci-fi for sure!!! Heartwarming, funny, emotional, scientifically mysterious. I absolutely love all the characters. It goes into the depths of science, but in a non pretentious way. You won't miss the plot if you don't understand it. My favorite bit is how the main character is a renowned scientist, but still makes silly mistakes. As he says: "At least being stupid isn't permanent. I'll press on. I know I shouldn't, but I'm too stupid to take that into consideration."

Do NOT watch the trailer for the movie before the read the book! It has a major spoiler that I think would take away from reading the book.

Sat on the couch crying after I finished it for a bit. I highly recommend this book to anyone regardless of their background.

What I liked:
✨Incredible speculation on space travel and more
✨Lovable characters with great backstories
✨Flipping narrative between present and past -- you get to figure out parts of the journey as you read. Adds a layer of mystery!
✨Goes into detail about some science, but in a non-pretentious way

What I didn't like:
💤Some parts felt a little over the top with trying to be funny
💤Bit of an emotional roller coaster near the end

Favorite quote: "This is astronavigational equivalent of doing donuts in the 7-Eleven parking lot."

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐