NYC Reads: Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

This is a feature that I've wanted to do for a long time and which is very, very close to my heart. As some of you know, I grew up in New York City and spent a good part of my life there, and it will always be special to me. I still feel a thrill whenever NYC plays any kind of part in a book, whether it's just a brief mention or the whole novel is set in the city. I really don't have a set format for these posts; basically I'm just going to talk about the NYC-ness of a particular book and maybe throw in a few relevant anecdotes if I've been to a real-life place in the book, etc.

Our inaugural NYC Read is Alexandra Bracken's Passenger, which I would have read just because of this fantastic cover:

I LOVE the design of this cover so much, from the beautiful skyline shot to the clever juxtaposition of the skyline and the ship with the bottle. This is a cover that completely ties in to the story beneath it: Etta, one of the two main characters, time travels from present day NYC to its colonial past, as well as to other locations around the world. Before her life is upended, though, violinist Etta is preparing to make her debut as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. She has a pre-debut performance scheduled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where her mother works, playing at a fund-raising event.

The scenes described in Etta's New York definitely brought back some memories. I've been to the Met once, and it's as amazing an experience as you can imagine, to be under the same roof with all of those exquisite works of art. Back when my friend and I were students at New York University, we saw the New York Philharmonic. She had to attend a classical music performance for an assignment, and we went to what I think was called a Casual Saturday concert. I admit that I'm not a classical music buff, but I'm so glad that I didn't bypass this opportunity. I still appreciated the beauty of the music, even if it wasn't the kind that I'd normally listen to.

When Etta travels back to 1776 NYC, she tries to visualize where some of the famous skyscrapers and other landmarks would be in her time. The East River is mentioned, and that really struck a chord because the Brooklyn neighborhood I grew up in was right on the East River. You could walk down to the pier and look across the river to Manhattan. When I traveled up to NYC in 2013 for my friend's wedding (the same friend I went to the Philharmonic concert with, lol), I stopped by my old neighborhood and was surprised to see how much the pier had been built up in the four years since I'd last been to NY. There's now a ferry that takes commuters from Brooklyn right into Manhattan—skip the subway—along with walkways that allow you to take in breathtaking views of the NYC skyline. I took the photo below while I was there; that's the Williamsburg Bridge in the background. The other pic is a throwback photo of me, probably around 1980 judging by the unflattering hairstyle I'm sporting, lol, on the old pier:

To close out this post, here's a quote from Passenger, where Etta, now in 1776, tries to conjure an image from the New York of her day, something that I found myself doing, too, when I read this:

"She closed her eyes, picturing Brooklyn Bridge stretching over her head, the fanned-out cables, the sturdy stone arches."

Review: Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Passenger (Passenger #1)
By Alexandra Bracken
Publisher: Hyperion
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: Violinist Etta Spencer is on the verge of making her debut when’s she’s pulled back in time to 1776. There she finds herself on board the ship of Nicholas Carter, who’s been tasked with bringing Etta to the powerful Ironwood family. Etta is the key to the Ironwoods’ absolute control over time itself, and they’ll stop at nothing to obtain it. Until now, Etta knew nothing about the existence of time travel, but it seems that she’s been destined for this path and to try and save her future.

Review: As a huge fan of Alexandra Bracken’s The Darkest Minds series, I’d been eagerly awaiting the release of Passenger. That anticipation was not unwarranted; within the first few chapters of Passenger, I was hooked.

Passenger is really the story of two characters: Etta Spencer, a gifted violinist preparing to make her debut on a New York City stage in the present, and Nicholas Carter, captain of the captured ship Etta wakes up on after her sudden and unexpected trip back to colonial times. Nicholas’s heart belongs to the sea, and he yearns for a ship to call his own one day. First, however, he must complete his mission to deliver Etta to the Ironwoods, an extremely powerful family of time travelers that has almost obliterated other traveling families in order to obtain total dominance. The Ironwoods need a single object to fully control time itself, and Etta is their means of locating it, even though she’s entirely new to this world.

What makes Passenger so refreshing to read is Etta’s handling of her situation. She goes from modern day NYC to 18th century Revolutionary America in a heartbeat, bringing her 21st century attitude with her. She’s not afraid to use it, either. Etta speaks her mind, social expectations of the day be damned; her fire quite endears her to some of Nicholas’s crewmen. Etta’s spark perfectly complements Nicholas’s own determination, and although what starts as an impromptu partnership isn’t without its obstacles and differing agendas at times, you cannot finish this book without needing the Etta/Nicholas ship to sail off happily into the sunset.

Alexandra Bracken’s take on time travel is absolutely brilliant. It’s explained in enough detail without feeling shallow, yet it doesn’t require the assistance of someone with a PhD in astrophysics to understand. Each historical period is recreated with so much vividness that you truly feel you’re right there alongside Nicholas and Etta in colonial New York City, World War II London, and 16th century Damascus, among other places/times. My favorite scenes, though, take place in Nicholas’s own time, 1776, on board the ship carrying Etta that he helps capture at sea. There’s an awesome pirate-y atmosphere to these chapters of the novel, and if the whole book had been set on the high seas, I think I would have been just as happy.

I will say that the pacing lags in a few spots, but this didn’t turn into a big issue for me. There are plenty of thrills and narrow escapes to be found within the pages of Passenger, along with a sweeping romance that utterly convinces you that love transcends all, including time. And the ending is guaranteed to leave you demanding the sequel, Wayfarer, ASAP.

All in All: A fantastic start to a new series. The time travel is excellently done, and the two main characters will not only win you over individually but especially when they’re together. Swoon factor: very high.