Book Review: Passenger

Passenger (book one) by Alexandra Bracken

Release Date: January 5th, 2016

Publication: Disney's Hyperion

Format of Novel: Hardcover

Rating: 4/5 stars

Summary (from good reads): In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.

Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods—a powerful family in the colonies—and the servitude he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must ensure she brings it back to them—whether she wants to or not.

Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are playing, treacherous forces threaten to separate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home... forever.

- - - -

So Passenger, the newest book from the creator of the Darkest Minds series has arrived and entered my arms with a wide, open grin. I devoured this book as soon I finished its release sister Truthwitch by Susan Dennard. And overall, as a reader, I enjoyed it very much so like a lot of people did when it was first released to the public. However, I did have minor issues with it. Hence why I dropped my rating to four stars instead of five stars on good reads. Before I go into the flaws of the book, let me explain what I truly enjoyed about this book.

Number one: Characters. This is one of the main reasons why I enjoy Alex Bracken's writing so much. Her characters are so diverse in terms of attitude, race, sexuality, etc. Every time you read a different book from this particular author, her characters are somewhat different, but they're quite enjoyable. Like Liam, I found Nicholas to be a very sweet character. But, he was very blunt, secretive, and a pirate. He was yearning for freedom, to be able to set sail for great adventures without any negative outcomes from anyone else. With Etta, she was very opposite from Ruby. She's witty, outspoken, and musical. She's the tough girl, but yet held onto a innocence of feeling desperate for answers in this world that she was suddenly thrown into after watching her teacher getting 'killed'. Plus, the romance between the two of them felt right. Yes, it was very, very rushed, but if you think about it for a moment, it felt right to have it rushed. It's probably because there's probably a good chance that these two won't ever get to see each other again after the second book. (But, only time will tell right?). The other characters were also a very nice addition to the story. They each held their roles in a great manner and I hope we'll get to see them in the sequel next year.

Moving on to my second and probably last point: The plot and world building. I enjoyed the time traveling and the adventure our protagonists had to take part for this book. We were able to explore the various times and areas along with the characters and I enjoyed how they were all different places instead of the ones we normally see in Young adult literature like European countries. Alexandra Bracken made the world building so vivid and realistic in my eyes, that she made me want to go to these places in the future.

As for the flaws, I did find a few of them. Like the pacing for example, I found it to be too fast for my taste. I almost skipped out on some of the bigger transitions simply because of how fast the pacing was in this book. The character development felt too flat as well, even though I did enjoy them. I wanted to see some growth everyone, not just the protagonists. And finally, the plot twists and dynamic of the time traveling. In my personal opinion, the significant plot twists were predictable and the time traveling wasn't that well explained. I think its mostly because of how fast the pacing was in this first book. I'm sure we'll get more explanation in the sequel since I think it may be told in more of Nicholas' point of view instead of Etta's.

In conclusion, this book was good start to this duology, but not one of my favorites in the world. Alexandra Bracken does a beautiful job in her writing style, ideas, and characters. But, this book was too flat for my taste and I can only hope that the sequel will be the grand finale of awesomeness since this is a duology. I can't wait till next year to see what else the author has in store for us. What are your opinions on this book? Let me know on good reads or in the comments below!