Printz Honor author A.S. King (Please Ignore Vera Dietz; Everybody Sees the Ants) has delivered yet another YA novel that may well have booksellers chasing customers around the store to handsell it.
In Ask the Passengers, Astrid Jones is struggling to find her identity. She spends her work breaks making out in secret with her female coworker; she's fake-dating a boy at school so she can spend Friday night going out with her friends; and those same friends are hiding secrets she wishes she didn't have to keep. Astrid's mother is a workaholic, her younger sister always sides with her mom, and her dad sneaks off to get high. Of course, no one else knows these things. Unity Valley is a small town, and fear of the rumor mill keeps everyone in check. The bright spots of Astrid's life include her humanities class and the time she spends gazing up at the sky, sending her love and her questions to the passengers in the planes that fly overhead.
When all the secrets start to come out, Astrid finds herself more confused than ever. As she tries to find answers to the questions everyone is asking her, she also finds unexpected strength and new perspectives on herself, her family and her friends. King interweaves Astrid's story with those of the passengers on the flights over Unity Valley, bringing unexpected moments of humor and depth. And the ending will likely have readers tearing up a bit. --Jenn Northington, events manager, WORD bookstore