I've seen a lot of negative reviews of this book, but I think many of them stem from a fundamental misunderstanding of what Willis set out to do with this story. What could have been a slapstick kind of satire with a Hunger Games-style competition for a spot on the first mission to Mars was instead a thoughtful and insightful rumination on belief, religion, humanism, and the varieties of trauma we carry with us from childhood to adulthood.

Amber and Kevin are both likable and unlikable in their own unique ways—you desperately want to root for them even as you want to take them by the shoulders and shake them. But that's also what makes the story compelling. Neither is entirely right or wrong in the way they see the world, or how they approach life's challenges.

If you go into this book expecting the space & sci-fi elements to take center-stage, you're going to be disappointed. But I sort of enjoyed how much Willis made them the background for the real human drama to play against. Of course, in our day and age of privatized wealth, extreme privilege, and obsession with social media, the next major space development won't have the same noble aura of NASA's previous advancements. It will be farcical and half-baked and driven by dreams of profit. And because of that it will fade into the background of our lives with the other examples of wealthy behavior that impact all our wellbeing even as they have nothing to do with our day-to-day lives.

I really enjoyed Girlfriend on Mars and am looking forward to reading more from Willis. This would make a perfect beach read for someone looking for a story at the intersection of fluff and thought-provoking.

What an engaging premise. There's some bumps overall, but I enjoyed myself and Willis' attempt at something more akin to our new reality was admirable.

Thank you toNetGalleyand W. W. Norton & Company for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Very promising premise, but unfortunately it fell flat for me. The writing wasn't too engaging. The characters weren't likeable. It was just a bit... dull. For me, at least.

Kevin and Amber have been together for years. They share their Vancouver apartment with their hydroponically-grown cannabis plants and have a profitable business selling weed. Life is going smoothly, or so Kevin thinks, until Amber tells him that she's been selected as a contestant on a reality show that will send the 2 winners to Mars. Permanently. And she really wants to win. Despondent, Kevin flips to the show every week to watch his girlfriend compete for a spot while falling in love with someone else. But what can he do? Is there a way to win her back? And why does she want to leave so badly in the first place?
Told in two POVs, we get to see Amber's perspective on the MarsNow competition and her relationships with its contestants, as well as Kevin's life back home in Vancouver, trying to hold it together. A hilarious concept and thoroughly enjoyable!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and W.W. Norton and Company for this e-arc.*

I liked Willis's writing, but I can't say I liked this book. The shifting perspectives were very confusing at first since they're only separated by a space, which can be difficult on an ereader. Perhaps the finished version will be clearer. They also swap between first and third person perspective, and it's an odd choice. It made me feel distanced from Amber, but hers was the only perspective that was interesting to me.

Between the cover and description, I was excited to read a satirical, fast-paced story that takes on reality TV, capitalism, and environmental issues. It sort of did that, but it definitely wasn't fast-paced. It also wasn't as funny as I expected. It was fine, and because of the writing at a sentence level, I would (cautiously) read more from this author.

Kevin and Amber have been together for fourteen years. They share their Vancouver apartment with their hydroponically-grown cannabis "babies" and have a profitable business selling weed. Life is going smoothly, or so Kevin thinks, until Amber tells him that she's been selected as a contestant on a reality show that will send the two winners to Mars. Permanently. And she really wants to win. Despondent, Kevin flips to the show every week to watch his girlfriend compete for a spot while falling in love with someone else. But what can he do? Is there a way to win her back? And why does she want to leave so badly in the first place?

This is one of those books you’re either going to connect with or not — at first I wasn’t sure which way it would go for me, but I did end up invested in the story. I can't say I really even liked Amber or Kevin, but I definitely was interested to find out how their stories would end.

Told in two POVs, we get to see Amber's perspective on the MarsNow competition and her relationships with its contestants, as well as Kevin's pathetic little life back home in Vancouver, trying to hold it together. They're both pretty terrible people, and if you can't stand cheating, they're not people you're going to like. They cross relationship boundaries so casually that it's grating, but I think this serves to illustrate how neither of them really should be in that relationship anymore.

Overall I found this book to be such an interesting concept and told extremely well (especially for a debut!) and I'm curious to see what Deborah Willis comes up with next. Check this one out if you like quirky character-driven novels, especially ones full of characters you don't have any particular affinity for. It's kind of like playing the Sims — you don't really care about them but it's fascinating to see what they do in weird situations.

Thank you to Deborah Willis, WW Norton & Company, and NetGalley for my advance digital and physical copies!

GIRLFRIEND ON MARS is such a complicated book to review. At almost 400 hundred pages, it took me a while to get through, and while some parts did indeed feel like a slog, this book also has so much promise and I was often delighted reading it. The cover and title definitely make it seem more like a fun romp of a book than it actually is. Yes, the plot hinges on a reality show where people compete to be one of two people sent to Mars to start a new colony in space, funded by an Elon Musk-esque billionaire. Sounds fun right? It is, but let's not forget that once you go to Mars you can't come back, and you leave everyone on Earth behind.

Each chapter moves back and forth between Amber, who is a contestant on a show and Kevin, her sort of ex boyfriend who she is leaving (like, literally leaving the Earth) from. They have been together for over 14 years, and have a co-dependent relationship as drug dealers, movie extras, and other day jobs. Amber wants more, Kevin does not. So, Amber wants to go to Mars! It's the perfect plot and had me hooked right away, the book just needed a LOT of editing and, as you can imagine, the ending is not happy whatsoever. it's a beautiful cover for a very different book, but one that is still worthwhile if you're willing to give it the time it needs.

Not a happy story but well conceived overall. There's some good writing here and I stayed mostly engaged.

I really appreciate the free ARC for review!!

I had to DNF this at 25%. Unfortunately, it’s just not the genre for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a copy!

Girlfriend on Mars is a fun read, great for a vacation book. I raced through it eager to see the outcome, the characters were all pretty unlikable but was still interested in their story.
A book I will be recommending as a summer read!

sadly dnf at 30%

i was so excited about this one, the premise sounded so dang promising and right up my alley. even within the first few pages i was so entirely stoked, but i quickly realized it wouldn't be my cup of tea. i can maybe appreciate what it was trying to do and the message of it all, and even the creative decisions made. but man. it was disappointing :(

if i'm allowed to rate it at 30%, i'll give it a 2.5 rounded down

I have a feeling this is a book readers will either love or hate. I loved it but I’m a sucker for reading about terrible people. These characters are not very likeable but they are certainly interesting. If you’re looking for a unique premise and a cast you’ll love to hate, I really enjoyed this book.

I was really looking forward to reading this book based on the description. It sounded fun and different. I found the characters irritating and absolutely no growth or change. The end felt rushed especially compared to the drawn out first half of the book which was too long and drawn out.

Millennial angst in space. I like both of those things, but there was something missing in the delivery for me. I felt like the characters were flat and the story went on a bit too long. Despite that, I think it will find readership in the library, so we will be purchasing a copy and see how it goes.

There is a lot I loved about the premise of this novel. Millennial angst. Outerspace. The uncertainty of wanting something for yourself in the future when the planet is dying.
Unfortunately, I did not entirely enjoy the execution. What held me back the most was not being able to connect with either character enough to want to read about the unraveling of their relationship.
I am very grateful for the opportunity and look forward to working with this imprint in the future!

This book was hard to put down, and it took me some time to decide what to say in a review. It’s funny and depressing and satirical and sad...yet hopeful. It touches on Internet celebrity, how our upbringings make us who we are, and how to try and save the planet. You know, the small stuff. It’s Sci-fi because of the whole Mars plot, but it’s also refreshingly character-driven.

Amber and Kevin have been together since their late teens and have settled into a somewhat co-dependent but warm relationship across the country in Vancouver. Amber decides to apply and gets a spot on a reality show that eliminates two people each week, with the final two heading to Mars to help colonize the planet. It's sponsored by MarsNow, a company run by a tech-bro-douchebag, as Kevin would call him.

The characters are so well-written and so flawed in authentic ways. I will for sure check out the next thing Deborah Willis writes. Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I absolutely loved reading this book. I was completely drawn into the topic and could not stop reading it.

"Girlfriend on Mars" is a gimlet-eyed chronicle of Millennial angst and frustration set in the near future.

Kevin is perpetually stoned, yet perceptive to the point of paralysis. Amber, his girlfriend, is determined to win celebrity at any cost, even the cost of her own principles. Both are emotionally crippled by dysfunctional parents.

Author Willis uses black humor and shifting narratives to render a bleak and gruesome conjunction of reality TV, social media, and the billionaire space race. The effect of this conjunction on one young couple struggling for survival is predictably bleak.

Despair is normal in a world in which the only currency a normal person has is personal privacy, if not your very soul. The sole ray of hope is in friendships and nature.

Reminiscent of Sally Rooney's "Normal People," T. C. Boyle's "The Terranauts" and Dan Chaon's "Sleep Walk."