Book Review: No Passengers Beyond This Point by Gennifer Choldenko

Posted as part of Tween Tuesday, hosted by GreenBeanTeenQueen.

No Passengers Beyond This Point by Gennifer Choldenko
Publisher: Dial
Publication date: February 2011
ISBN: 9780803735347
Source: ARC sent by publicist



When India, Finn, and Mouse have to make a sudden move from their house to live with an uncle, none of them are very happy.  Not to mention, their mom can't come with them right away.  But their plane ride to Colorado is anything but typical.  Making a strange landing in a very odd place, they must figure out just where they want to be and quickly, because time is running out.

Things I Liked:
What a strange and wacky story!  It was actually quite fun to have them sort of "wake up" is this weird place and experience all of these strange things.  The quirk factor is quite high in this book and it made for an unpredictable read and a lot of twists and turns that are unexpected.  What I think I enjoyed most was that underneath the silly and strange aspect, there was meaning and purpose that could be recognized, even if not everyone will find those things.  A strange tale with surprising depth and heart.  Here's a favorite part:

And then there's Bing, her invisible friend.  We've told her scientists don't have invisible friends, but she insists we're wrong.  I don't know where she gets her information.  Do all invisible friends know each other?  Is there a clearinghouse for invisible facts?  A social network?  A chat room?  These are the kind of questions you find yourself asking around Mouse. p 3 of ARC
Things I Didn't Like:
Sometimes I just didn't follow what was happening.  It got so strange and random that I couldn't figure out anything and felt very lost and confused.  I'm not sure many kids are going to love this, but definitely give it to the ones who love the weird and quirky.


Read-alikes:
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: none

mrg-factor: none

v-factor: ->
some minor scary stuff


Overall rating: *** or **** (can't decide)

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage


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