Mindy Park is one of the most interesting and relatable characters in Andy Wier's book, The Martian. A young NASA engineer stuck in a relatively boring dead end job, she examines photos from Mars throughout the night after the team has left the planet, leaving a dead astronaut behind. She then writes up her analysis and files it for her bosses to read when they get in. NASA is facing a lot of hard questions and all its employees feel the heat, it seems the public isn't sure what to do with a dead astronaut left behind at a time when resources and money isn't given easily to space exploration. Where is the body and should the public see pictures if it's found? And whose fault is this catastrophic failure or is this the price of progress?Into this somber atmosphere, Park notices possible changes in her photos, and pursues the mystery of what could have altered the landscape around the abandoned site on Mars. Beset by doubts even though she is the one who discovers photo evidence that all has not remained the same on Mars since the team left the planet, she must somehow decide on what actions to take with her mystery and her theories. Is it wind and planetary changes and how much of this is real, or a mistake, or hope?Park's relatability is what draws the reader in and in many ways, it's Mark Watney's only hope. Park faces and overcomes the same obstacles that any of us would face working in a large bureaucratic organization like Nasa, trying to get someone with any power at all to hear us, much less take us seriously. And then once they do pay attention, how does a career minded scientist who is also a geek fan girl addicted to space hold it together in power circles she has never been a part of before and become a part of the solution? Mindy Park's character is a great mix of phenomenally competent, curious and vulnerable. She is one of us. Show less «