Shelley’s Comments (group member since Jul 23, 2015)

Shelley’s comments from the Ellet Branch Library Book Club on the Run group.

Doubtful that I would ever eat a baked potato, but fried potatoes are so far from what he was eating that it scantly even resembles a potato. So, I see me (or him) eating potato chips and fries, but never baked potatoes or mashed potatoes.

What I found most surprising was the adventure and humor in the book. I honestly thought it was going to be dry and depressing and more of a drama. I was quite satisfied to find this book to be a page turner and fully of humor and excitement.

When I read the back of the book the first time I saw it, I wasn't at all interested. I thought, "BORING! A story about a guy alone on Mars. This can't possibly be entertaining or end happily." Then, it got so much hype, they were making a movie about it, and my dad said it was very good. So, I decided to give it a try.

I really enjoyed this book. It was neat to take a journey with two different women who lived during two different time periods; the early 1900's and the early 1960's. It sort of broke stereo types (at least for me) of the women we normally read about or watch in movies/TV shows during these periods. It was interesting to see how women were treated by society in each of those times, but then how they were treated or how they acted privately. The struggles these women had during their separate time periods were very relatable to what some women struggle with today. Not the happiest of books, but quite interesting and a good read.

At the beginning of the book they made him out to be a scary, monster. A typical folktale told by kids where everything gets exaggerated and the truth is unclear. In the tale the kids told, and acted out, they said how Boo had stabbed his father in the leg for no reason. This added to the "legend" and "mystery", but also foreshadows to his heroism at the end of the book. I think in the beginning the author starts us out having us believe that Boo is bad, however, she builds up the character of Boo subtlety throughout the story, so by the time the conclusion happens we, as readers, are already on Boo's side and feel sympathy for him.