Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (Spoilers)

I think this was brilliant!  (Spoilers ahead!) 

Ryland Grace, a man who loves teaching and actually cares that “his kids” learn, not so much as having a straight desire to teach to them, but give them joy in learning.

He actually wants to save the future by teaching quality to the future generations.

He seems to love learning as much as he loves teaching. You can observe him teaching in the classroom but he also loves teaching what he discovers and his methods. His brilliant mind for math and science reminded me of my favorite teacher, Mrs. Mabie. She loved teaching but more importantly she loved to see “her kids” learn.

I loved the relationship between Rocky and Grace. They built a friendship even though they had no common language and were from different worlds. It was beautiful.

In the end, the brilliance was that Grace didn’t give up. He chose sacrifice and was rewarded by still getting his dream. He was teaching, although another species on a distant planet. He was teaching and that was beautiful.

I can honestly say that when my book club chose this, I was dreading reading it, because it isn't my normal genre. I gave it a chance and I loved it. The science geek in me came out with the first physics formula and then with the microorganisms showed  up, I was all over it. ( I studied microbiology in  college.) This was so much more than I could have expected but I absolutely loved every chapter! I liked the way it flowed between the backstory and the journey. I loved the characters. I can't say what a pleasant experience this was! 

Favorite quotes:

“We fell in poop and came out smelling like roses.”

“Use Taumoeba farts to propel ourselves through space.”

“Yes, that’s right, I’m eating human meat. But it’s my own meat, and I don’t fell bad…”

“The still-inflated catheter yanks right out of my penis. And that does hurt. It’s like peeing a golf ball.”