L.A. Times book prize winner A.S. King on her inspiration 

queerbookclub:

schoollibraryjournal:

A.S. King discusses the inspiration behind her L.A. Times book-prize winner, Ask the Passengers, which also garnered an SLJ star.

I loved Ask The Passengers - Astrid is one of the most three-dimensional girl protagonists I’ve read in ages. A.S. King gives her room to be smart, funny, loving, and also as insecure and unsure of herself as I was at that age. I also completely related to Astrid’s account of her suffocating hometown - full of the good, normal, all-American kind of people who think they are immune to racism and homophobia (spoiler alert: no).

I kind of want to drive to my old high school and hand it out… or maybe just go back in time and give my sixteen year old self a copy.