Author: A.S. King
Publisher: Little, Brown
Genre: Realistic Fiction, GLBT
Blurb: Astrid Jones desperately wants to confide in someone, but her mother's pushiness and her father's lack of interest tell her they're the last people she can trust. Instead, Astrid spends hours lying on the backyard picnic table watching airplanes fly overhead. She doesn't know the passengers inside, but they're the only people who won't judge her when she asks them her most personal questions--like what it means that she's falling in love with a girl.
As her secret relationship becomes more intense and her friends demand answers, Astrid has nowhere left to turn. She can't share the truth with anyone except the people at thirty thousand feet, and they don't even know she's there. But little does Astrid know just how much even the tiniest connection will affect these strangers' lives--and her own--for the better.
In this truly original portrayal of a girl struggling to break free of society's definitions, Printz Honor author A.S. King asks readers to question everything--and offers hope to those who will never stop seeking real love.
Me: A.S. King's writing makes you think and question. It evokes doubt and gives a different view of things.
The Ups: The world has changed. GLBT are people we interact with everyday. In some places, people are not as open to the idea as others. People still foreign to the entire concept find it uncomfortable. But one thing in inevitable. People's views are changing, and so is the culture around us. A.S. King shows a very real and different side to what we consider a stereotypical story.
I think we all have our suspicions. Some say that you are born with it, and I think that most of us assume that all of those people are very confident and secure with who they are.
A.S. King proves them wrong. We often forget that these people are just people too. We call them "gay" like it is a label. Like it makes up their entirety. This book goes into the life of Astrid, who makes us realize that even though we pretend like it's "a universal fact" that we are all equal, we violate that fact so many times every single day.
It made me realize that even people who are defying the general social definitions have their doubts about themselves, and are not all too comfortable in their own skin.
The thing about her writing, though, that makes it so special, is that her characters are so incredibly flawed. They don't seem to get over those flaws either, like in other books, but instead, keep them and acknowledge them. Her family, her work, her school, Astrid's life is one huge mess, and instead of even trying to fix it, she keeps it together by sending love to passengers in airplanes.
I think anyone can find a connection with Astrid, whether it be that they are going through the same worries that she is, or trying to find love, or find themselves.
The Downs: Dee. I did not like that character at all. I wasn't too sure whether I was supposed to like her or not. She was very pushy, very physical, and maybe that was how it was supposed to be. Maybe one of the points was that Astrid still loved her and she still loved Astrid. But I didn't like her.
Overall: So eye-opening and enlightening. Loved it.
Rating: 4 kisses!
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