A Rover's Story

#1 New York Times bestseller * Best Book of the Year from The Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, New York Public Library, Chicago Public Library

The One and Only Ivan meets The Wild Robot in this unique and deeply moving middle grade novel about the journey of a fictional Mars rover, from the Newbery Honor–winning author of Other Words for Home.

Meet Resilience, a Mars rover determined to live up to his name.

Res was built to explore Mars. He was not built to have human emotions. But as he learns new things from the NASA scientists who assemble him, he begins to develop humanlike feelings. Maybe there’s a problem with his programming….

Human emotions or not, launch day comes, and Res blasts off to Mars, accompanied by a friendly drone helicopter named Fly. But Res quickly discovers that Mars is a dangerous place filled with dust storms and giant cliffs. As he navigates Mars’s difficult landscape, Res is tested in ways that go beyond space exploration.

As millions of people back on Earth follow his progress, will Res have the determination, courage, and resilience to succeed…and survive? 

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320 pages

Average rating: 8.83

6 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

hfj0108
Nov 03, 2024
9/10 stars
The dual narrative combines the story of a Mars rover called Resilience and letters written by Sophie, daughter of the scientist who built it. The characters of the robots are beautifully-drawn, funny and endearing while the background story of Sophie and her mother Rania is genuine and moving. Two different perspectives of life that leave you thinking after the last page.
JL Reads
Aug 04, 2024
9/10 stars
Another Heartland List book for middle grade readers, and I enjoyed it. Told from the POV of Res, a rover built to go to Mars, and Sophie, whose mom worked to build and code Res. Res has thoughts and feelings, despite being programmed as a robot. Beeps and boops. Sophie writes letters to Res, a cathartic way for her to handle her feelings and we get to watch her grow up through her letters. Book #79 in 2024

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