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Ask the Passengers

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Ask the Passengers Cover

ISBN13: 9780316194686
ISBN10: 0316194689
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Astrid Jones copes with her small town's gossip and narrow-mindedness by staring at the sky and imagining that she's sending love to the passengers in the airplanes flying high over her backyard. Maybe they'll know what to do with it. Maybe it'll make them happy. Maybe they'll need it. Her mother doesn't want it, her father's always stoned, her perfect sister's too busy trying to fit in, and the people in her small town would never allow her to love the person she really wants to: another girl named Dee. There's no one Astrid feels she can talk to about this deep secret or the profound questions that she's trying to answer. But little does she know just how much sending her love — and asking the right questions — will affect the passengers' lives, and her own, for the better.

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

Review:

"The philosophical searching, surprising spiritual guides, and powerful observations of contemporary life that characterize previous works by King (Everybody Sees the Ants) are in full evidence in a story that's at once much more than a coming-out novel and one of the best coming-out novels in years. High school senior Astrid Jones moved from New York City to Unity Valley, Pa., with her family years ago, but it still doesn't feel like home. Astrid isn't comfortable labeling herself gay ('I'm not in this to be a member of some club. I'm not going through this so I can lock myself in the one of them box'), and the community's homophobia and aggressive rumor mill weigh heavily on her. When several secrets become public, Astrid's relationships are further strained, and she copes by silently sending love to the passengers of airplanes flying overhead (whose brief stories indicate they can sense Astrid's questions and feel the love she unleashes) and carrying on imaginary conversations with Socrates. Funny, provocative, and intelligent, King's story celebrates love in all of its messy, modern complexity. Ages 15 — up. Agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
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About the Author

A.S. King is the author of the highly acclaimed novel Everybody Sees the Ants and the Edgar Award nominated, Michael L. Printz Honor book Please Ignore Vera Dietz. She is also the author of The Dust of 100 Dogs, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. After returning from Ireland where she spent over a decade living off the land, teaching adult literacy, and writing novels, King now lives deep in the Pennsylvania woods with her husband and children. Learn more at www.as-king.com.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
Courtesy of Mother Daughter Book Club com, January 30, 2013 (view all comments by Courtesy of Mother Daughter Book Club com)
A. S. King, author of Everybody Sees the Ants and Please Ignore Vera Dietz isn’t afraid to write about big issues facing teens, including bullying, domestic abuse and alcoholism. With her latest book, Ask the Passengers, King delves into the issue of sexual identity and what defining it means not only to the teen, but to the people surrounding her as well.

Astrid Jones is the main character who retreats to her backyard picnic table when she wants to escape the tension in her life. Lying there she focuses on sending her love to passengers on passing airplanes. It’s her way of holding everything together until she graduates high school and escapes the whispers and secrets that come with living in small town, Unity Valley.

And Astrid has a lot of secrets to keep. Her mom is a control freak who favors Astrid’s younger sister Ellis and criticizes Astrid. Her dad smokes pot and mostly refuses to be pulled into the conflict. Astrid’s best friend and next-door neighbor, Kristina, is lesbian, and she dates a popular guy at school who is gay because they give each other cover.

Astrid herself thinks she may be attracted to her co-worker Dee, but she’s not sure if that makes her a lesbian or just confused about what she wants. When an unexpected event tears away the layers Astrid has built around herself, she finally has to decide who she is and how she must go forward.

Ask the Passengers delves into the philosophical as the story follows Astrid on her journey of self-discovery. She wonders why everyone expects her to say outright that she’s not heterosexual when she’s not even sure herself. People thins she’s lying when she says she doesn’t know.

Everyone in Astrid’s high school seems to have an opinion about who’s okay to date and who’s not, and hate messages against gays are scrawled on classroom bulletin boards, so she knows if she makes a statement about who she is it’s more than a casual declaration. Astrid finds that she’s testing the bounds of friendship and learning a lot about people closest to her as well as casual acquaintances through this one issue.

The small stories interspersed about the reactions of passengers on airplanes who receive Astrid’s love are interesting too. They offer little snippets into multiple issues people deal with on a day to day basis. Ask the Passengers offers a lot for discussion both on what Astrid is facing and what the passengers resolve about their lives. I recommend it for ages 15 and up.

The publisher gave me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780316194686
Author:
King, A. S.
Publisher:
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Subject:
Children s-General
Subject:
Children s Young Adult-Social Issue Fiction
Publication Date:
20121031
Binding:
HARDCOVER
Language:
English
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Related Subjects


Children's » Featured Titles
Children's » General
Featured Titles » General
Young Adult » Fiction » Social Issues » Dating and Sex
Young Adult » Fiction » Social Issues » Homosexuality
Young Adult » Fiction » Social Issues » Prejudice and Racism
Young Adult » General
Young Adult » New Arrivals

Ask the Passengers New Hardcover
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$17.99 In Stock
Product details pages Little, Brown Books for Young Readers - English 9780316194686 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "The philosophical searching, surprising spiritual guides, and powerful observations of contemporary life that characterize previous works by King (Everybody Sees the Ants) are in full evidence in a story that's at once much more than a coming-out novel and one of the best coming-out novels in years. High school senior Astrid Jones moved from New York City to Unity Valley, Pa., with her family years ago, but it still doesn't feel like home. Astrid isn't comfortable labeling herself gay ('I'm not in this to be a member of some club. I'm not going through this so I can lock myself in the one of them box'), and the community's homophobia and aggressive rumor mill weigh heavily on her. When several secrets become public, Astrid's relationships are further strained, and she copes by silently sending love to the passengers of airplanes flying overhead (whose brief stories indicate they can sense Astrid's questions and feel the love she unleashes) and carrying on imaginary conversations with Socrates. Funny, provocative, and intelligent, King's story celebrates love in all of its messy, modern complexity. Ages 15 — up. Agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
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