Astrid Jones, the main character, moved with her family to her mother's hometown of Unity Valley- a drastically different place from her former home in New York. Unlike her younger sister, Astrid has never really "fit in" with the crowd, despite being friends with the homecoming couple. She's also dating a girl, but she doesn't know if she's gay. On top of that, she has no one to talk to, her mother completely ignoring her, her father occupied with smoking pot, and her sister Ellis sucking up to their mom. So she sends her love to the passengers in the airplanes flying overhead- not that they know she's down there, but she has no one else to give her love to, really.
The author intersperses Astrid's story with little vignettes of passengers on the planes passing over Unity Valley. All these passengers (unknowingly) have a small connection with Astrid's love, and it ends up changing their lives- and eventually hers -for the better.
I like how the author portrays Astrid's growing sense of self-acceptance and bravery throughout the book, especially her courage to confront her mother near the end. I also appreciate her snarky, sarcastic sense of humor used to defend herself from the taunts she receives at school and to reflect upon events, because it's something I would do.
"How many things do I have to invent in my head to survive this?" -A.S. King, Ask the PassengersI would recommend this book to anyone interested in LGBTQ themes.
