Cover via Goodreads.
Rating: 4/5 stars.
Astrid Jones sends her love to strangers. She gives it away to passengers in the sky, because that’s the only way she’ll be free. Her demanding, over-controlling mother talks at her, her dad does crack, and her sister worries too much about her reputation to be of any help. Living in a small town has its downsides, and Astrid realizes just how damaging those downsides are when she finds herself falling in love – with a girl.
What a voice. Astrid’s perception of her surroundings struck me as wise yet authentic; her narration has a relaxed that endured her to me. Through her I witnessed the conflicts within a dysfunctional family and a small town. Ask the Passengers is the wonderful story of a questioning young protagonist searching for her place in the world, and A.S. King’s writing supplemented the adventure. The inclusion of philosophy and other quirks within the story make it a unique one amongst the YA LGBT canon.
I also appreciated the magical realism in Ask the Passengers. Magical realism is usually hit or miss for me, so I’m glad that King’s subtle use of it in this novel only added to its overall appeal.
Overall this wasn’t the most original, earth-shaking coming of age or coming out story I’ve ever read but I enjoyed it. Even though this is my first A.S. King book I can tell she’s a force to be reckoned with in the YA genre.
the quiet voice 
I stumbled upon this blog just surfing the internet.
I then proceeded to spend the next hour reading blog posts. Your writing drew me in immediately, especially the posts on life. I feel like I know you some already, and you seem like a great person! The personality you put into your writing is part of what makes it so good.
Hey Zach, I’m glad you stumbled upon my blog. It makes me happy that you feel like you know me, I want to connect with and share my personality with my readers through my voice. I hope you enjoy more of the posts I publish in the future – please contact me through comment or through my contact page if you want to talk more!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this book so much, even though it’s your first King novel. I feel like I’ve been meaning to read her for the past year or two now, but never got around to it, so I definitly must. Maybe I’ll even start with this!(: Great review, Thomas, and I’m excited to pick this up now, mostly because of the authentic narration!
She seems like an under-recognized YA author as several of my blogging friends have lauded her books but I haven’t seen her publicized that greatly at my local bookstore/library. I hope you enjoy any one of her books as much as I did this one, Keertana!
I have to read this book! Thanks for your wonderful review!
You’re welcome, I hope you love it!
Wow. This sounds really good! I have seen this book popping up a bit around the blogosphere but I never payed much attention to it. But after reading your fantastic review I definitely will buy it! It is rare for a character’s voice to sounds wise but also authentic–well, for me anyways 😛
I agree, the wise and authentic voice combination is rare, especially in YA. As always I hope you enjoy the book as I did Lottie!
Sounds like a good book, I’ll look out for it. I nominated you for the One Lovely Blog Award: http://thoughtorchardblog.wordpress.com/2013/03/14/one-lovely-blog-awards/#comments
Thank you for your nomination, and I hope you enjoy the book if you read it!