"Passenger" Review

Hello to all of you lovelies! So, this week I have my first February book review on, "Passenger," written by Alexandra Bracken.

"Passenger" follows Henrietta "Etta" Spencer, a 17 year old, violin prodigy as she discovers the real story behind, her family's lineage. When I first heard of  "Passenger" I was excited to read it; I found the concept of a time travelling, treasure hunt, to be incredibly fascinating. Especially, after reading and loving the "Ruby Red" trilogy, written by Kerstin Gier. I was looking forward to going on new and different adventures, and following Etta as she discovered her true destiny. 

In saying that, Bracken's time- travelling world has many different levels, so I want to begin with a break-down of  the world Bracken created. There are specific "rules" to time travel, and as Etta learns the rules, we as readers learn them. This type of story-telling reminded me a little, to how J.K. Rowling told "Harry Potter," in the sense that as Harry learned, we the readers, learned. However, unlike in "Harry Potter," Etta does not have people willing to help and explain the rules to her initially. Instead she is thrust into this bizarre and confusion world, with no guidance or explanation. She is just expected to adapt and move forward, which surprisingly she is able to do (to some extent). 

As we begin piecing together the "rules" of time travel--we learn that the passages used for travelling, not only move a person through time, but also through space. For example, we begin the story in modern day New York, but the first passage Etta travels through, brings her to the Atlantic Ocean on a pirate ship in the year 1776. We learn that the passages are connected to one specific year and location, and if you wish to travel back to the day you left, the traveler must wait an entire year in order to return (ie: if a traveler leaves September 1st and wants to return home on that day, they have to live in the decade/century they traveled to, until it is September 1st again). 

"The best way to explain this is to think of the timeline as a kind of... constant, roaring stream. It's path is set, but we create ripples by jumping in and out. Time corrects itself the best it can to keep later events consistent. But if a small change snowballs into a much larger one, or it a traveler's actions are devastating enough it can actually shift the flow of the timeline, thereby changing the shape of the future from that point on."

We also, discover that time travelling is limited to those who have inherited the gene from their families. Throughout history there have only been four families to travel through time. But over the years--after civil wars, power struggles and rebellions, there is now only one surviving family-- the Ironwood family. Except we find out that Etta and her mother are the sole survivors of a rival family, the Lindens. Which brings us to the real reason Etta begins to travel. Cyrus Ironwood the patriarch of the Ironwood family kidnaps Etta and her mother, Rose. Cyrus Ironwood then threaten's Rose's life and forces Etta to travel to find the last existing astrolabe, a device that aids in time-travel (however we find out later that the astrolabe is actually significantly more powerful then we were first lead to believe). 

This creates obstacles for the "Passenger" characters, especially when Rose, leaves clues for Etta throughout history to follow. Bringing Etta to London 1940, Paris 1880 and Bhutan 1910. Fortunately, Etta is aided in her travels by the charming and chivalrous sailor/pirate Nicholas Carter. Who we met on board the Challenger, the pirate ship in 1776.

Nicholas is bribed into helping Etta at first, by Cyrus Ironwood, but eventually forfeits his fortune because of his feelings for Etta. 

I've enjoyed the path that "Passenger" has taken so far, but there are aspects of the story that have me struggle to relate or develop any sympathy for some of the characters. For starters, though I like Nicholas and believe he is a crucial character, the first time he sees Etta he has this overwhelming urge to protect her. Even as he was pulling her out of the ocean, he was "willing" her not to die. And as the surgeon was resuscitating Etta, Nicholas remarks on how he didn't like the way the other men aboard the ship were observing her. This is escalated further, during the crew dinner. Both Nicholas and Etta make rash decisions, jump to one another's defense and feel protective over someone they only just met. In addition, this plot-line was fairly predictable, within moments of meeting Nicholas, the readers know that Etta and Nicholas will fall "in love." 

However, personally, I found that the romance happened pretty quickly--they have only known one another for a few weeks and both Etta and Nicholas are trying figure out their "forever" plan. Not to mention the "love scene" in Bhutan, it escalated quickly-- going from 0 to 60 in just a few minutes. Now don't get me wrong, I love a great romance plot and I loved the little moments they shared together, like when they were in the London tunnel during the bombing or in Paris after Nicholas thought he saw his mother. But in some instances the romance felt out of place-- like Etta should really be more focused on saving her mother's life, instead of furthering a relationship with a potential boyfriend (who by the way is 240 years older than her). 

Also, at times Etta seems quite independent, self-sufficient and strong. But more often then not, Nicholas is fulfilling the role of  her protector and bodyguard, but also the person piecing the clues together. At those moments, it was frustrating to read because I was trying figure out what Etta's role was and why she has relinquished so much control. Especially when Rose's clues were targeted to Etta's life and experiences.

Lastly, I found several points that were similar to the "Ruby Red" trilogy. Both stories have the heroin on a type of scavenger hunt and both focus on a rare device that aids in time travel, as well as having one leader pulling the strings, while existing in the past. Not to mention, both stories utilize a biological gene, which allows a select few individuals to travel through time. Though there are similarities between the stories, there a quite of few differences. I liked how Bracken combined all of the elements and gave Etta a unique perspective. Bracken's idea of a "blank slat" was creative, and it explained (to some degree) as to, why Rose did not tell Etta about the time-travelling world. Also, Bracken's use of music was an interesting way in connecting Etta's passion and her destiny. I also, enjoyed how the story was told from both Nicholas and Etta's points of views. It gave readers a little more back-story and history to the time-travelling world. 

Also, I do feel that because I did read the "Ruby Red" trilogy, I might be a bit critical of "Passenger." However I want to reiterate, that I did enjoy "Passenger" quite a bit. I found the origin of each families' lineage interesting, and I liked how there are Guardians-- like Alice, or members of each family throughout history (time and space) that guide and protect the travelers. I think these aspects are clever and unique, which makes "Passenger" a different type of time-travelling story. I am also, looking forward to see how the next book unfolds.  

I am eager to see what Nicholas' next steps are after the cliffhanger and how Sophia will fit in with his plan. I'm really hoping that Rose kindof steps up, in the next book. Rose's character bothered me, I felt that Rose was only interested in Etta when it benefited her. And I'd like to see how Etta and Rose's relationship either grows or fizzles, because of  the disclosure of secrets-- like who is Etta's father or will Rose come clean about Alice. 

But my biggest hope for the second book, is to see more of Alice. I love the Alice character (both the old and young version), Alice is such an important person in Etta's life, and I like to see how Alice will fit into the next story. Maybe there could be some Nicholas/Alice scenes? Since they are the two people the care about Etta the most, maybe they could work together to figure out how to find her.

I liked how "Passenger" left off on a cliffhanger, it makes me excited to read what happens next. I do have some questions, but I think that's only normal. Hopefully we'll have those answers in the second novel (though I anticipate once one question is answered, there will be a dozen more new questions). I'm eager to see where Etta ended up, if Nicholas will find her, and how the events in "Passenger" effected or changed the future/ Etta's present.

What do you think? Where would you like to go, if you could travel throughout time? What are you hoping to see in the next book? Let me know, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

For now, I say good night and hope that the my random ramblings have peeked your inner bookworm. 

~BL