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YA Review: Ask the Passengers by A.S. King

9/26/2012

8 Comments

 
ask the passengers cover
Ask the Passengers
Author: A.S. King
Publication Date: 10/23/12
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Blurb (GR):
Astrid Jones desperately wants to confide in someone, but her mother's pushiness and her father's lack of interest tell her they're the last people she can trust. Instead, Astrid spends hours lying on the backyard picnic table watching airplanes fly overhead. She doesn't know the passengers inside, but they're the only people who won't judge her when she asks them her most personal questions... like what it means that she's falling in love with a girl.

As her secret relationship becomes more intense and her friends demand answers, Astrid has nowhere left to turn. She can't share the truth with anyone except the people at thirty thousand feet, and they don't even know she's there. But little does Astrid know just how much even the tiniest connection will affect these strangers' lives--and her own--for the better.

In this truly original portrayal of a girl struggling to break free of society's definitions, Printz Honor author A.S. King asks readers to question everything--and offers hope to those who will never stop seeking real love.

Review:

If you've read as much YA as I have, I am sure this story will sound VERY familiar to you. I myself have read it once, twice or three times, in one form or another, and each version was of a different quality. I want to repeat the blurb and say that Ask the Passengers  is a "truly original portrayal of a girl struggling to break free of society's definitions," but it just isn't.

Astrid's is a story that's been told before. A teen who lives in a small town full of close-minded people, possibly falls in love with a girl and questions her sexuality. She keeps her questions to herself for the time being, not sure of her own feelings and fearing reactions from her superficially accepting family and openly intolerant community. But one day Astrid's cover is blown and she is forced to face the fallout...

Although the book is an assemblage of popular tropes, especially the second part, abundant with acts of homophobia and fake gay-supportiveness, King's writing abilities and her unique touches of magical realism and quirk elevate this story from the been-there-done-that level. The novel shines because of its memorable, vivid characters and interesting family dynamics (you can't be bored by Astrid's high-strung NYC-nurtured mother and her laid-back, pot-smoking dad). The elements of magical realism brighten up the story as well. (If you are into that sort of thing; in my relationship with A.S. King's books, it's a hit or miss, sometimes the quirky and weird is too much for me to handle.) In Ask the Passengers imaginary Socrates follows Astrid through her troubles and infuses the book with old time philosophical musings, and Astrid's habit of sending her love to the passengers of flying-by planes adds another layer to the narrative, when these anonymous passengers return the favor by sharing their love and life stories with us, readers. These bits are refreshing and entertaining.

Besides the familiarity  of the story I think my most acute concern is the one that Flannery talked about in her recent Something Like Normal review, easy and unearned forgiveness. There are many harsh things Astrid has to go through in this novel, thanks to people closest to her, things she doesn't deserve. But all is forgiven and forgotten in the end. This is not what a realistic resolution entails, at least not for cold-hearted me.

In her last three novels A.S. King has already undertaken the subjects well-used in YA - death and grief (Please Ignore Vera Dietz), bullying (Everybody Sees the Ants) and struggles of gay teens (Ask the Passengers). While I enjoy King's spin on all of these subjects (and she herself is a one cool lady and an author whose approach to her craft I respect immensely, based on this podcast), I wish she would stretch her wings of creativity and write about something... fresher.

3.5/5 stars


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8 Comments
Keertana @ Ivy Book Bindings link
9/26/2012 06:43:31 am

I've heard so much about A.S. King in the past, especially after all the acclaim that Please Ignore Vera Dietz received, but I have yet to read a book by her. I will admit though, that all her novels seem to have such interested synopses and despite the abundance of typical tropes in this one, I am glad to see that King's writing style redeemed the book after all. I do have to agree with you and Flannery though - I tend to hate that easy type of forgiveness. I think it was so realistically portrayed in Corrine Jackson's If I Lie, so if you're looking for something raw and gritty where forgiveness isn't always given, I think you should try that one out for sure. Fantastic review, Tatiana! It's clear that I definitely need to pick up King's books soon and see how wonderful her writing style is for myself! :)

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Tatiana (The Readventurer) link
9/26/2012 07:43:31 am

Keertana, I've read and liked all her books, but I think "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" is her best.

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Heidi link
9/27/2012 08:02:42 am

Yes, you've exactly summed up what has kept me from reading any A.S. King thus far, Tatiana. I don't read a lot of contemp, so when I do, I like it to be something special. I know I've read amazing reviews of all of these books, but yet, I feel like I've already read all of these books before. I'm just not big on 'issue' books, and they can really shine if they're original, but this just sounds like it isn't--even if it is well done.

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Tatiana (The Readventurer) link
9/27/2012 08:13:40 am

I hardly ever see YA book synopses any more that don't make me think - Oh, I've read that before. It applies to commercial genre fiction - dystopias, UF, PNR, and contemporaries too.

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Heidi link
9/28/2012 07:57:05 am

So true! I seriously don't even get through blurbs anymore before writing books off. Some of them are probably great, but there's just so many code words that make me lose immediate interest these days.

VeganYANerds link
9/27/2012 12:35:58 pm

Great review, Tatiana. I have heard so many good things about King's books and I own a copy of Vera (but am yet to read it). As soon as I read your intro I thought of Pink as well as The Miseducation of Cameron Post, so I definitely understand that the topic is nothing new but it does sound like a book I would still enjoy

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Rebecca link
9/27/2012 03:15:35 pm

I haven't read anything by A.S. King yet but I want to. Ask the Passengers sounds great and I'm sorry to hear it fell flat for you. I have to agree with VeganYANerds, there are some similar novels that pop into my head when I think of it but I'm still looking forward to this. There just aren't nearly enough GLBT YA out there and I always look forward to finding a good one that is done well. Maybe I'll have better luck with this myself? I hope.

Amazing, honest review!

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Christina (A Reader of Fictions) link
9/28/2012 02:27:50 am

I'm sorry this one didn't resonate with you. I really loved it myself. Of course, to be fair, I have not yet read any of those three books you linked to, though I do own two of them. The basic themes of struggling with sexuality and with the expectations of others may not be unique, but I guess that doesn't bother me since it's sort of the main essence of being a teenager. It's what all YA lit is about to some degree.

I felt that the magical realism (which I loved, especially the bits with the plane passengers and I'm glad you liked it too, though I agree sometimes she does go too far like with the ants in Everybody Sees the Ants...it just got a bit too weird at times) and the face that Astrid doesn't classify herself as gay or straight really made the book a bit fresher.

Of course, I also just love the way A.S. King writes There's a quote or more on just about every page that I am moved by, so she just happens to have a style that works perfectly for me, which means that I could find joy in even the tritest story line, so long as she continued writing like that, and that's certainly not going to be true of everyone.

The easy and unearned forgiveness is a good point. I definitely see what you're talking about, but it actually kind of worked for me in both books, because I felt the characters so much. It helped here, too, that Astrid realized how many of the problems in her relationships also came from within, which I can sympathize with because I've had similar eureka moments in the past. However, I so would not have forgiven my mother or Kristina so easily. They deserve more time in the emotional dog house.

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