Review: There’s No Basketball on Mars by Craig Leener

Author Craig Leener delivers an inspiring story of reaching impossible dreams, despite impossible odds, in his new YA novel There’s No Basketball on Mars, a stirring dream-fueled adventure.

Depicting a character on the autistic spectrum without falling into tropes or unfair stereotypes is challenging for some authors, but Leener approaches this protagonist with compassion, patience, grace, and humor. Lawrence Tuckerman is the sympathetic beating heart of this brilliantly told tale. Although his particular condition makes it more challenging for him to navigate a busy world of noise and people, it has made him a mathematical prodigy, a fact that has piqued the interest of NASA.

Overnight, his pipe dream of crunching the numbers for a manned mission to Mars becomes a reality, and his life is turned entirely upside down. Not only does he have to rethink everything he knows about the exploration of Mars, but he has been specially chosen to participate in the next stage of a secret mission on the red planet. That shouldn’t be a problem, so long as government agents stop interrupting his astronaut training meals of chili mac ‘n’ beef.

Readers are given a rare glimpse into the quirky anecdotes and tangential thoughts of Lawrence, demonstrating the vast range of emotion and potential within the oft-misunderstood neurodiverse community. From the very first lines of this story, it becomes clear that readers will have an unadulterated lens into Lawrence’s tangled and tremendous mind, reminiscent of the Tourettic protagonist of Jonathan Lethem’s Motherless Brooklyn. At times, it feels as though he is speaking directly to readers, and at others, as though he is simply dictating the monologue of his mind, putting readers into a somewhat voyeuristic position, as he “lives in the math.”

Lawrence’s friendship with Zeke is tender and enlightening, an example of beautiful connections in unexpected places, across social, cultural, and cognitive divides. Using basketball and near-future space travel as the thematic vehicles of this story is a stroke of genius, and while most of the narrative focuses on Lawrence, his earth-bound connections cast a shadow over his complex thoughts and decisions. Lawrence’s relationship with his father is similarly eye-opening – a healthy example of a widowed father with a seemingly endless well of understanding, flexibility, and love.

From a scientific standpoint, Leener clearly poured himself into research to ensure the authenticity of the spaceflight and the journey to Mars, complete with academically accurate language, without the prose ever becoming too dense. That said, the progress of the narrative can be a bit slow, as the first hundred pages drag in places. While the dialogue gives readers a real feel for Lawrence’s communication struggles, the plot doesn’t always move forward at a quick enough clip.

These small slips are easy to ignore, given this heartwarming and carefully written story. Blending humor, science, fantasy, and the relatable foibles of human nature, Leener has crafted a charming and impactful read.