There are some books that will deeply resonate with the intended audience and Ask the Passengers is one of them. A.S King does a fantastic job of creating these complex and interesting characters, all with their own voices and points of view, and I have no doubt that readers anywhere close to Astrid's age will feel drawn to their struggles and personal challenges. I know for certain that if I had read this while still in high school (a mathematical impossibility but let's pretend anyway) it would have been one of my favorites for how well it pinned down teenaged angst and growth. 
 For all of her reliability, Astrid Jones is actually going through a very specific set of problems. Initially from the Big Apple itself, Astrid and her family have since relocated to Smallville USA, where everyone knows everyone else's business and community gossip can destroy your acceptance by your neighbors. Her parents' marriage is strained what with an over-zealous mother who really does not belong anywhere near the suburban lifestyle and a laid off dad in the midst of a mid-life crisis, complete with pot smoking. On top of all that, Astrid herself is coming to terms with her sexuality and the fact that she potentially maybe kinda might be in love with a girl but she's not exactly certain about her feelings. 
 I'm not exactly certain how many teens will be going through this specific scenario but the conflicts found within Ask the Passengers is still really relatable, simply because of how well Ms. King narrates everyone's voice. I might not have been questioning my sexuality while also trying to keep said questioning a secret from my school, but I remember the effects gossip could have on people and how mind-boggling fast it could spread. Without ever asking you could know who was and wasn't a virgin, who got caught doing what and with whom and the exaggeration of the truth would mutate before anyone could get a lid on it. 
 Another thing I really appreciate is that all of the characters in Ask the Passengers act like teenagers. They make stupid mistakes, they hurt people they care for because they are selfish and don't think things through, they don't see the full scope of their actions and the consequences therein. These make for frustrating moments at times but also make for realistic characters. Do all teenagers behave the way the characters do? No, of course not. But I can safely say that I knew many a peer who acted the way Astrid and her friends do and make dumb decisions. 
 Make no mistake, though. Relatable teenagers and high school drama aside, this is definitely a book all about a teenager's struggles with coming to terms with her sexuality and how those around her will perceive her potential coming out as gay. I really appreciated the complexity Ms. King put into the issue. Astrid knows how she feels about Dee, the lady of her affections, but struggles with understanding if her attraction to Dee is a special instance or a sign or her overall tendencies. However, I did feel like there was a teensy bit of bisexual erasure going on. Certain characters make it clear that they have the mindset of "either you are gay or you are straight" and completely ignore the fact that bisexual and pansexual people do exist and liking more than one gender does not invalidate your feelings towards both or all genders. But perhaps this was just an observation due to the setting of the novel, it being a close-knit small community. 
 Overall I really enjoyed Ask the Passengers. The ending was a little "and they all lived happily ever after" for my liking but that might just be my own reading tastes. I really would have loved to spend more time with Astrid and her family, find out more about their relationships and watch them change with age but alas, I can only experience what was written. I'll just have to settle for reading more of A.S King's books, it seems. OH, THE HORROR.