by Meru S.
A Rover’s Story is a ruminative and hopeful tale by author Jasmine Warga. Published in 2022, this simple but well-written book is narrated by a Mars rover known as Resilience.
Though he is a machine, Resilience (Res for short) gradually begins to understand and even feel human emotions as he observes the scientists at the NASA lab where he is developed. He forms an unspoken but close connection with two scientists, Rania and Xander.
Meanwhile, an eleven-year-old girl, Sophia, who is the daughter of Rania, is incredibly hopeful about Res’s expedition to Mars. She writes letters to him, describing her everyday life and expressing her emotions about his future, whether it is worry, fear, or excitement. Though Res does not see her letters, she continues to write to him occasionally over the more than two-decade-long timeline of the story.
Res’s mission is to find Courage, a rover previously sent to Mars by NASA. Caught in a dust storm, Courage had lost all connection with Earth, and Res must attempt to bring him back online.
Once on Mars, accompanied by his talkative and friendly drone, Fly, and guided by a bossy but wise satellite named Guardian, Res explores the uneven surface. As he searches for Courage, he collects samples of the dirt and sand and takes photos of the rocky landscape. A single thought fuels his determination; the cost of bringing him back to earth is extremely expensive. Res is resolved to discover something—anything— that will be worthy enough to ensure his return.
However, Mars’s rough terrain can be dangerous even for a rover. Res has to be exceedingly cautious and avoid deep holes and dust storms. But Res is brave—one of the many ‘human’ words he learned from listening to the scientists at the lab—and there is little that he fears. With the constant companionship of Fly and Guardian, the coded instructions from NASA, and the intuition he unexpectedly has, he does not give up easily.
In this quiet and observant narrative, Warga beautifully captures the minds and thoughts of machines, giving each character, whether robot or human, a perfectly fitting personality. Readers ages eleven and up are sure to forever hold this not-too-long, not-too-short book in their hearts.
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