King, A.S. (2012). Ask the passengers. NY:
Little Brown
Astrid
is a deep thinker that lives in a small town named Unity Valley, where everyone
knows your business or gossips about you. She is taking a philosophy class that
is making her think about her feelings in a deep meaningful way. She feels
unloved by her mother and ignored by her father and sister. Like many girls, Astrid is not sure where she fits in. She
thinks she doesn't even fit into her dysfunctional home. Her self-absorbed
mother is not someone who understands her. Her dad smokes too much pot, and her
sister Ellis is favored by her mother. Astrid's mother and sister go out on
bonding nights where the sister is allowed to drink, and Astrid is never
invited. All Astrid knows is that she has feelings for her coworker Dee. She
likes kissing her, but is not sure what to make of that. She'd love to talk to
someone about it, but there is no one in her small town to turn to, not even
her best friend Kristina. Instead, Astrid turns to the teachings of the classic
philosophers to learn and accept just who she really is. She routinely lies on the picnic table she made
with her father sending all her love away to the passengers flying overhead in
the sky. Astrid and her girlfriend come close to having
sex, but do not because Astrid is not sure of what she wants. They even come up
with a code word to signal when they are ready for the next step: abracadabra!
Astrid and her friend end up getting caught in a gay bar called Atlantis and that is when
everything gets thrown out of proportion. Her
mother Claire believes everyone else over Astrid. Astrid deals with feeling
alone and unloved. She continues to get up each day and face the gossip and
rumors head on. She has Socrates as an imaginary conscience that assists her in
processing everything. She begins to feel love for her girlfriend and does not
want to send it away anymore to the passengers flying by, realizing she needs
it to be happy.
This is a very
touching realistic fiction novel about learning, accepting, and loving who you
are. It definitely offers a valuable message for anyone, gay or straight. This
is the kind of book that can serve as a “window” when reading for curiosity. It
also fits in the way adolescents develop and start preferring the same or
opposite sex.
Author's Website
Author's
Blog
Interview
with A.S. King
Other books by the author.
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