I read The Martian because it was on the top of the list for 2014. I read it all the way back in January and it was one of the best books I read. The audiobook was fantastic. I promptly recommended it to both Jake and David (both of whom loved it, too.)
I then recommended it to everyone I know.
At this point, the book is super famous thanks in part to the movie, of course. (Which is also wonderful.) This is more of a science book as opposed to science fiction. But it’s also funny. It reads easily and quickly. One of my favorites from the year.
Highly recommended.
Hi Karen…! I just finished reading the Harry Potter series to my eight year old son, and I’m looking for something new. Would you recommend this book for someone that young? (I’m sorry I have forgotten how old your son is now. Time flies!) Or, do you have any other book series to read aloud to boys that you particularly enjoyed? Thanks in advance…
Hi Heather. There are many many many uses of the f word in this book. It’s written for adults. I told David to read it despite the cursing (he actually had found this book at the store and as soon as he opened it he had decided it wasn’t appropriate for him since the first sentence uses the f word.) In his case, since he loves science so much, i told him to ignore the instances of the curse word and read anyway because I knew he would love it. But I wouldn’t recommend to an 8 year old.
For your 8 year old, you can do the Percy Jackson series if he hasn’t read them. Or Kate DiCamillio has some wonderful books including “Because of Winn-Dixie” and “The Magician’s Elephant.” Wendy Mass is another great author for that age. I read a book a week to David when he was in 1-2nd grade and some of those are wonderful, too. Here’s the list: http://www.karenika.com/archives/category/family/david/reading-with-david
My hubby read the book way before we went to see the movie. I really like the movie and this book is on my reading list on Kindle 🙂
I really enjoyed both the book and the movie, too. Honestly, as much as I am not big fan of cursing, I’d rather have my daughter (11) read this book than the Hunger Games series with all the violence. (She has read them, unfortunately; I would have preferred that she wait.)
Yes I feel the same way, I haven’t let David read the Hunger Games (or Maze Runner, etc.) yet. I told him he has time and doesn’t need to rush into it. He can read those when he’s 13/14. There are plenty of good books to read for 10/11 now 🙂 I know several of his friends have read them, though.