Reviews

A Rover's Story by Jasmine Warga

dlberglund's review against another edition

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5.0

I loved this smart and funny interpretation of what a Rover, intended for Mars exploration, might think behind the code and missions it is given. Yes, they are a bit anthropomorphicized, but it was lovable while not being over the top.
I think the author did enough research to make the science feel sciencey while giving the book lots of heart, both in its tech characters and the human ones.

lillygabriella's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

inspired's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective fast-paced

4.0

sandraagee's review against another edition

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4.0

This was a really interesting read. Based loosely on the real Mars rover Perseverance, Jasmine Warga tells a story largely from the perspective of the rover describing what it might do, think, and even feel over the course of its mission.

This book is a Pixar movie waiting to happen.

Our rover in this story, Resilience, has a lot of feelings for a robot. The other rovers, satellites, and other electronics that Resilience interacts with often comment on how unusual this is, some even advising it to dispose of those feelings so that it can be a better rover. Of course, the rover who wrestles with his emotions because he doesn't know what to do with them is an infinitely more compelling story, and I definitely enjoyed myself more once I let the unrealistic nature of the emotions thing go. It's really the emotions that make this story, both those of Resilience and the human girl Sophie, whose mother is on the team who builds and manages the rover and who periodically writes letters to it as a way of trying to process her feelings.

katpeterson06's review against another edition

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3.0

Such a unique story premise. While I enjoyed reading the story to my daughter, I felt some of th ewriting was dry. And it just seemed a bit pointless for Sophie to write to the rover if the rover never actually gets them.

helloakosisam's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

jce's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

pensandpicks's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

abanas's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging hopeful informative reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

mccbooklove's review against another edition

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emotional funny informative sad medium-paced

5.0