Ask the Passengers is written by an award-winning author named A.S. King. She was coined by the New York Times as the “One of the best Y.A. writers working today” and as a reader, I couldn’t agree more. I read only one of her books and was instantly excited to read more of hers. The book also won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize back in 2012. The story centers on a girl named Astrid Jones, a philosophy enthusiast, and lover of the New York Liberty, in her last months of high school, has a girlfriend, and! She spends most of her free time looking at the sky, waiting--watching the planes hover her through the sky, while she sends its passengers her unrequited love.
Philosophy!
"That's the point!... To argue things out to the most absurd!"
One of the many reasons why this book is special to me and what actually got me hooked is because it incorporates Philosophy. Astrid Jones, despite her peculiarities, is not a hard character to like and to fall in love with. She has the wits and cleverness that we all need in this Unity Valley of a world. She’s free-spirited, as seen in her desperate plea to go back to New York, the land of the Statue of Liberty. She was a bird curious of the world yet is pushed back in the box that her new town Unity Valley, her family, and her friends molded. And just like any form of escapism, Astrid sees an exit door through Philosophy. The story braids with magical realism that lightens and colors an all-too-serious plot.
Socrates--Frank on his toga being Astrid’s figment of the imagination and life advisor/judge, having snippets of the Point of View of the Passengers on the plane, is a fun experience for me as a reader. Personally, I love her dynamics with Socrates, or Frank as she likes to call him. How with Philosophy, she’s genuinely curious and not just blindly following the standard and asking queries after queries not to know, but to understand. As a reader, it tests your ability to think and be consciously aware.
The concept of giving love without expecting any of it in return
Her town, Unity Valley, values ego, pride, and their reputation a lot. And it influenced Astrid’s family on a great level. Due to countless criticisms and comments, Astrid and her father stopped making birdhouses just so the rumors of them being a bunch of freaks would as well, stop.
"Equality is obvious...equality isn't really working in the present tense is it? Because equality isn't really obvious to most people...Everybody's always looking for the person they're better than"
- Ask The Passengers, p.265
People in the town would talk or accompany you, if you have something to offer to them and if spending time with you would give them a pleasant reputation. In other words, if you’re of any benefit to them by any means. But Astrid begs to differ. Every time she lays her head on the table in their backyard, she delivers her love to a random seat on the plane over her head. Without knowing who, and what they are or no matter what/who they are, sending her love without expecting any of it in return. For me, this is truly one thing that society needs right now, to love just because.
Coming to terms with sexuality
"This isn't reciprocal.
It's an outpouring.
Because if I give it all away, then no one can control it.
Because if I give it all away. I'll be free"
- Ask the Passengers, p. 6
I am going, to be honest, I picked this book because I thought it would be like one of those simple and fluffy-cute WLW YA novels, but boy did I get more than that. The main plotline is about Astrid coming to terms with her own sexuality. It shows the simpleness (if that's a word) yet complicatedness of what it's like to be ‘sure’ of oneself. As a fellow member of the LGBTQ+ community, the book communicates to the reader these words, ‘it takes time’, and that ‘it’s not a choice’. Simple yet so complicated even in this time and age. One can just wish it could be simple in the future.
There is more to love in this book, which is actually why I like it. It's a safe haven for queer people in the haze of confusion of their own self, and a slap for the people who don't comprehend the simple word "Equality."
There's a lot that was covered yet King manages to tie them up together with a big ribbon on top. In the end, like a bird trapped in a cage by her town, family, friends, girlfriend, and herself who is trying her best to create a key to be free, she gets it. And she became a bird free as the wind, full of love like an airplane carrying various people with a heart capable of loving.
To anyone who is feeling a little confused about themselves these days, let me just say, that it’s okay, take your time, time is an illusion, so there's no need to rush. And with that, be strong, and I send you all my love, you don’t have to give it back, just keep it safe.
You can get a copy of A.S. King's book on Amazon, just click the link below!
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