A Rover's Story by Jasmine Warga. 308 p. Balzar + Bray/ HarperCollins Publishers, October, 2022. 9780063113929. (Review of finished purchased copy.)
Middle Grade Monday features A Rover's Story by Jasmine Warga. This story is told from two points of view. Resilient, aka Res, is a rover that comes to consciousness in a NASA laboratory. It is his first-person narration that comprises the bulk of the narrative. Interspersed throughout, are letters written to Res from Sophie, the daughter of one of the scientists responsible for Res' programming. Sophie misses her mom because she works very long hours preparing Res to be launched into space and eventually explore Mars.
Even though Rovers are programmed to be precise and logical, Res develops a growing awareness of feelings, particularly toward Xander and Raina, the two primary scientists, who talk to Res and play music for him. Res' voice is at turns child-like, poignant and hilarious. Short chapters in the form of journal entries keep the story moving even though it takes place over seventeen years. Hey! It takes a long time to get to Mars! Once Res lands on Mars, with Fly, his trusty drone, they deal with Guardian, an imperious and logical satillite and the rough terrain and terrible dust storms on Mars as they collect specimens and search for a missing rover.
This book is my absolute favorite book of 2022. It's tender, engaging, hilarious and I never wanted it to end.
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