This review originally posted at More Than Just Magic 
 The Martian is one of those books that once you get into it it is impossible to put it down. Everything else will seem less important than this question - "What is going to happen to Mark Watney?" 
 It is one intense read. Mark Watney has been (accidentally) left behind on Mars. The very first line of the book is "I'm pretty much fucked" and I can't imagine a more accurate description of his situation. But despite the initial hopelessness of his situation Mark Watney keeps fighting to survive, keeps fighting to beat the odds. Watney was the ship's botanist and engineer and those skills come in handy. He's quite clever and he's able to employ quite a bit of "back of the napkin" math to solve problems I couldn't even begin to process. And every time I let your guard down even a little bit and allowed myself to believe he might make it, Mars would throw a new curve ball his way. 
 Part of the reason why you become so obsessed with what happens to this poor astronaut is Mark Watney himself. Personally, if I was stuck on Mars, I would probably curl up into a ball and cry my eyes out. But Mark Watney rises to the occasion. It's impossible not to cheer for him. He's clever - able to think up bizarre solutions to even the most intense problems. Think of him as a kind of space MacGyver. But he also has a great sense of humour. He is able to make jokes about his situation as easily as he makes them about his colleagues' taste in music and television. The Martian is not the story of any old astronaut in space, it is Watney's story and he is a very likeable guy. 
 Also it needs to be stated that I am not a science person. Not in the slightest. I even worked the system in high school so I could sub out Grade 11 science for "Hospitality" because it technically counts as a technology credit. My point is that I could have cared less about physics, biology and most of all chemistry. But The Martian made me care. There is a lot of science in this book - from rocket science to growing potatoes on Mars - but it was presented clearly and made me want to learn more. If there had been books like this on my shelf in high school I probably would have stayed in science. 
 The Martian is easily one of the best books I've read this year. Andy Weir has clearly done his research. Even though we haven't reached this level of space exploration it seemed completely plausible. And he balances all this detail with so many twists and turns it will keep your heart racing. "Suspenseful" doesn't even begin to describe it.