This is a 2024 Lone Star selection.

Okay--I thought this book was non-fiction. When I'm reading all of the Lone Star novels, I read absolutely NOTHING about them. I open the book and start reading. Well, I was listening to this book and assumed it was a personified version of the actual rover that went to Mars. Nope--it's fiction, but the scientific information is correct. Good thing I listen to the notes at the end! Let me also say that I hated the book when I started it because I don't enjoy science. I have nothing against science and respect how science changes the world; I trust scientists. I don't want to read about science. At all. By the end of the book, I felt invested and wanted Resilience to achieve his goals.

This Rover feels human emotions from its birth and wants to make the hazmats proud of him. He calls the humans Hazmats because of their suits, and he particularly connects with two people. One is Rania; she has a daughter, Sophie, who writes to the rover, named Resilience (not the name she wanted) beginning when she is twelve. The book ends with Sophie at the age of 33. Sophie's purpose is to tell what's going on because Resilience has a limited view of his clean lab. Sophie can tell the reader how long the rover has been gone, what's going on with the scientists and keep us grounded on earth.

Resilience makes friends with another robot, named Journey, and is surprised when Journey stays on earth and Resilience will be the one who goes to Mars. We see the lab from his point of view; he likes music and wants to talk to his scientists, especially Rania, but he can't. We learn a lot about the rover program and why it's important along with Resilience. He has a friend who will travel with him, Fly. Fly is a drone. When they eventually make it to Mars, you learn a lot about Mars, but it isn't boring. Resilience (many call him Res) wants to do the best job he can and get samples that will make NASA bring him back to earth. It's at this point where I was thinking, "They've brought a rover back from Mars? I didn't know that! How would one do that? Well, they've never accomplished this feat.

Seriously, it's not a bad way to learn and I was very invested by the end. The story is completely from Res's and Sophie's points of view. Enjoy! ( )

A Rover's Story by Jasmine Warga is an incredibly charming, insightful, warm hearted science fiction book that was inspired by the Mars rovers Perseverance and Curiosity. The story revolves around a Mars rover named Res (short for Resilience). We track his progress while he is being built and as well as his journey to Mars! Res is sentient and he has dialogue with his "team" which is other robots but he desperately wants to communicate with humans! Unfortunately humans can't hear him. One of the NASA scientists that is working on him has a daughter (Sophia) who is 12 years old when the book starts and she writes letters to Res but he will never see them. As creating Res and getting him to and back from Mars takes years, we watch Sophia grow up through her letters. The science fiction part comes in with Res returning to Earth from Mars. As of right now, NASA does not have the means to retrieve their rovers.
A Rover's Story is a heartfelt book about the joys of scientific discovery, the pains of growing up, the need for connection and relationships.
It will teach you what it means to be alive. ( )

I am very, very, very pleasantly surprised by this one.

I checked this book out solely because it was Jasmine Warga. And a book with a rover as the protagonist, and Mars as a setting, seemed very very different for her. But now it's up for discussion on Heavy Medal's Mock Newbery List....and to be honest, I can see it.

Let me explain. This book transported me to space. And normally I could care less about books with a space emphasis. There are "One and Only Ivan" comparisons and I actually agree. This book is about emotions and feelings, discovery and loss. I could hardly believe that I felt the emotion of Res. I was surprised that as Res was discovering and learning new words, battling emotions similar to joy, excitement, anxiety, and fear....I was feel them right along with the robot.

I believe this works because there is also a letter writing medium. Between Res and Sophie, one of Res's creators' daughter. Years go by (twenty plus to be exact) and we experience Sophie's emotions too. How writing to Res and processing kept her sane through growing up, her missing her mom when she spent the years in the laboratory.

This book is somehow relatable. It's interesting to see Res's drive and determination to make it back home, back to Earth. You root for it the entire text. A Rover's Story will be one boy and girl readers will enjoy! ( )

Warga does an exceptional job developing Resilience's evolution from rational robot to heartrendingly sentient. Resilience is to be a rover on Mars. He is very observant and questioning, taking in all that happens in the lab and getting to know the scientists. He becomes acquainted with Journey, another rover in the lab, and later, Fly, a drone that accompanies him to Mars. He is intrigued by human emotions even as Journey discourages him from "feeling." Perhaps it's artificial intelligence that compels Resilience to work above and beyond the coding sent by command central. Through Resilience's camera eyes, readers get a fresh look on what it means to be human. And he's as engaging and endearing as WALL-E. ( )

this was amazing. i loved just about everything about it (except how it sure seemed like rania died, maybe of cancer, and it kind of doesn't make sense to have had that emotional manipulation for what really feels like no reason.) and how full of emotion this is, even when it's about science and it's from a robot's perspective. attaching thoughts and feelings to the rovers, and seeing how they operated was just so great. the letters from the young sophie round out the whole story in a perfect way. it's so smart and so well done and beeps and boops i just loved it so much. ( )