A Rover’s Story
“‘Zappedty, zip.’”
Resilience is a rover, and built to explore Mars. He wasn’t built to have human emotions. He learned to have human-like feelings from the NASA scientists who made him. Perhaps it’s a problem in his programming.
Launch day arrives and Resilience blasts off to Mars. He quickly discovers that Mars is dangerous even with the help of a friendly drone named Fly. He encounters giant cliffs, dust storms, and navigates difficult terrain. Res is tested in ways that go far beyond space exploration.
With millions of people following his progress back on earth, Res must find the courage, determination, and resilience to succeed- and survive.
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Jasmine Warga
B+B
294 Pages
The theme of this book is being yourself, which is a theme most people should enjoy. The main character is a rover named Resilience, or Res. He is a rover with human emotions that make him different from most other machines.
Res's dream is to explore Mars, and most importantly, return home to Earth. Res is joined by Fly, a friendly helicopter drone, along with Guardian, a satellite who guides them while they are exploring Mars. The book shuttles between the lab where the rover is developed and the planet Mars. The flow between the two settings were natural and it wasn’t confusing for the reader.
I greatly enjoyed reading this story from the point of view of a rover, hearing the rover’s take on the proceedings as he was prepared to go to Mars. The process of Res being built and the tests he endured to make certain he would survive on the planet’s surface were all based on the real processes behind rover explorations.
Initially some of the characters thought Res’ human emotions were strange. For example, Guardian seemed serious and fact-oriented, and often argued with Res about emotions. As Guardian spent more time with Fly and Res, he began to accept the idea of Res having human emotions and seemed to develop them himself. I enjoyed Fly’s contagious enthusiasm, Res’s determination and compassion, and Guardian’s seriousness when they were together. They work well as a group, able to overcome the challenges they faced on Mars.
People who enjoyed reading this book may also enjoy The Wild Robot, another story from the point of view of a robot.
