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BOOK REVIEW: Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Passage, n. i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes. ii. A journey by water; a voyage. iii. The transitions from one place to another, across space ad time.

Summary :

Present day, Violin prodigy Henrietta ‘Etta’ Spencer loses everything she knows and loves in one night. She is thrust into an unfamiliar world – on a ship on the Atlantic Ocean in 1776- where she learns she not miles away from her home, but centuries away and prison on a ship for a reason. Nicholas Carter is free at sea. After long time, being a servant to the legacy family and making a mistake in the past, he is pulled back when he meets beautiful, clever and determined Etta on his ship. Together they will embark on a journey for a rare, most bewildering power in the world. Etta and Nicholas have 13 days to find and retrieve the object descents of the families’ lines - not only have great power, it can create passages. Such a dangerous weapon. A dangerous task. Two hungry-power families want it. A dangerous journey against time.

Personal Views :

I read Passenger at the end of November and it has become my favourite book of 2016. It’s a combination of historical fiction, science fiction and fantasy. The writing is rich, crisp, and stunning. The novel is fantastical and captivating. I really was intrigued with time travelling aspect. It was a bit rough in the beginning to really understand at how travelling through passages work, but once I got further into the book, it was orchestrated wonderfully. I just want to grab a journal and time-travel right now! The characters were what made the story enrapture me - Etta, prodigious, determined and intelligent, Nicholas Carter, stoic, thoughtful, guarded, patient and handsome - even if it was very insta-love. Relationship grew complicated since they are from different centuries but it was still adorable. In my opinion Etta always showed bravery when she defended Nicholas from firsthand discrimination and prejudice because of his colour and class of status. My brain reacted to these parts as if someone ran their nails along a chalkboard since I hate the attitudes, beliefs and values from the past because I was protected from it. Believe when I not naive it does not happen in the present, it sure does, but not to the extent of the ugliness. I think it made it more realistic. Overall, I am in love with Passenger. I cannot wait to get my hands-on Wayfarer that was released on Jan. 3rd.

Favourite Quotes :

“The anger that had flooded her veins was so pure, she thought it must have turned her blood to acid. You could have read a hundred books about the attitudes and beliefs of the past, but the impact of witnessing this causal, ignorant cruelty firsthand was like having a bucket of ice upended over your head. It forced Etta to see that the centuries padding this time and hers, along with simple privilege, had protected her from the true ugliness of it. People believed this trash, and they were spreading it around like it was nothing. Like they weren’t even talking about humans’

“Know this, pirate,” he said, his hand gripping the railing, “you are my passenger, and I will be damned before I let any harm come to you.”

“ Do you really believe I’d take my leave of you without so much as a good-bye?If nothing else , I gave my word that I would take you away from here if you were in danger."

Suggested Reading :

If you read Passenger, then I suggest on January 3rd to pick up her sister “Wayfarer”. A few other novels that are similar is Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman, Until We Meet Again by Renee Collins, and Into the Dim (Into the Dim #1) by Janet B. Taylor.

More about the author

Alexandra Bracken is the author of the Darkest Minds, and the Stars Wars. To follow her, on her Web page, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

I hope you enjoy this book review, comment below what was your favourite moment of the Passenger?

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