4/5 stars
What's it about? Environmentalist and former evangelical and aspiring Olympian Amber Kivinen abandons her boyfriend of fourteen years to compete on a reality show for the chance to join the first manned mission to Mars. A tender, funny, and at times didactic debut about ambition, love, and human greed.
How’d I find it? This book found me. While shelving at Solid State Books, I discovered this fabulous cover and had to have it.
Who will enjoy this book? Lovers of reality TV will adore this book and its satire.
What stood out? You know what? My enjoyment of this book gets 5/5 stars. I read all 300+ pages over the course of three days while working full-time and could not get enough of the hilariously obnoxious cast of characters: restless Amber, her boyfriend Kevin, the MarsNow contestants, slimeball billionaire Geoff Task, and Kevin’s stoner besties. Willis completely sticks the landing (hehe) in a surprising and satisfying way that absolves the novel of some clunky bursts of sentimentality and climate change warnings. It took me awhile to warm to Kevin’s narration every other chapter, as the breaking of the fourth wall and persistence of his gloom distracted from all the fun of the reality show’s taping.
tl;dr — read this one.
Which line made me feel something? “She chose this barren place and now she’s scraped out, empty, mourning everything. The smell of a red pepper when you cut it open. The pattern of rain on a window. The feel of water on her skin. She misses birdsong, even a crow’s cackle. Her dad’s voice. The smell of her mom’s hair.”