“Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars…”

I really wanted to read more A.S. King after loving Still Life with Tornado, and one of y’all had reviewed this one positively so I picked it up next. It wasn’t quite as good as Still Life, mostly because the weirdness level was a bit lower and I like weird, but it was still really good — a very touching read in a totally not-sappy way.

“All those people who are chained here thinking that their reputations matter and this little shit matters are so freaking shortsighted. Dude, what matters is that you’re happy. What matters is your future. What matters is that we get out of here in one piece. What matters is finding the truth of our own lives, not caring about what other people think is the truth of us.”

Astrid Jones feels confused, and she has no one to talk to. She thinks she likes girls — she certainly likes one particular girl — but she doesn’t feel ready to tell her (gay) BFF, or go very far with her girlfriend. Her family is a nightmare — a bitchy mom, a checked-out dad, and a sister who used to be close but no more. Astrid finds comfort in lying on her back in a field, sending her love to people on planes as they fly overhead, totally unknown.

Ask the Passengers isn’t wildly different than many other novels about confused teenagers (regardless of the cause of their confusion), but King does a wonderful job of bringing Astrid to life. I really enjoyed reading this one, and I can’t wait to try my next novel by this author.