Ask the Passengers by A.S. King

Astrid moved from New York to a small-country town, which is a big adjustment. She still thinks of herself as a city New Yorker, but to her dismay her parents have not yet moved back there, making Astrid an outsider in their small town.

Astrid also has a secret that no one besides Dee knows - she is secretly dating a girl. Astrid doesn't see anything wrong with that, but she knows that there is a "right" and a "wrong" in her small town and if anyone knew about her secret they would shun her even more than they already do.

Things at home are hard. Her mom pretends that she is still in New York by dressing up as if she is going to work, when she actually works at home. Her dad has started to smoke weed, so now he is high all of the time and can't keep a job for very long. And her younger sister, Ellis, wants to be popular and her mom's "mini-me", so that means liking Astrid is out of the question.

Because Astrid has no one to love and no one loves her, she sends her love to the sky. Specifically, to the planes that fly over her back yard. Every time one flies over, she sends all of her love to somone who needs it.

And it actually works. Someone who is lost or feels unloved on that plane will get a burst of love or understanding when Astrid sends all of this love their way.

With Astrid's "girlfriend" Dee pressuring her to come out of the closet so they can start dating for real, Astrid is unsure if she is gay or just bi-curious. And with the looming knowledge that her parents and the residents of the small town will treat her differently, Astrid is not sure if she wants to do that.

But not being herself and hiding her true passions is not a good thing either. Will Astrid finally let her friends and family know? Or will she stayed locked away in a place where she has to give her love away to complete strangers because her closest friends are too small minded? Read Ask the Passengers by A.S. King to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
When I first started reading this, I didn't realize it was about LGBTQ. Goes to show how much I read the description, eh?

And at first I wasn't able to connect with the novel. Astrid is a bit weird, but she is also very lost, not knowing what to do with the person she is and the people she knows.

As I got more into the novel I found myself really wanting to know what happens, so I think this was a very good novel.

I liked the way that A.S. King portrayed Astrid. I also like how she created Dee as well, because Dee was already out and was pressuring Astrid to do the same. I think that is very realistic when a person is trying to find out if they are lesbian/gay or not.

While I have not read many LGBTQ novels, I am really glad that I picked this one up at my library to read.

I think that any girl would like this novel, even if they don't like girls. It tells about high school bullies, rumors, confusion, and loneliness, which every girl goes through at one stage or another.

Also, I've never read any of King's novels, even though she has a few out. I may have to pick another one of them up to see what else she has written about.