No Passengers Beyond this Point

I finished another book!  I'm doing better on reading since the 48 Hour Book Challenge.  I suppose I should make a goal - how about I read thirty more books this summer - in nine weeks?  That'd be something!


To get started . . . I just finished Gennifer Choldenko's No Passengers Beyond this Point.

Choldenko is the author of historical fiction titles like Al Capone Does My Shirts and Al Capone Shines My Shoes, but also some realistic fiction titles like If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period and A Liar and Her Dog.  I wasn't sure what this book was - once I've chosen a title, I make a point of not reading the inside cover of a book.  (That practice does tend to make one choose a book its cover, but c'est la vie.)


Even eighty page into the book, I wasn't sure how I'd classify the book.  I finally figured it out (it's neither historical nor realistic fiction).  Choldenko is such a gifted writer, able to change her voice completely.  Had I not known this was her book, I never would have guessed hers, even after reading all the above-mentioned titles.  However, I'm not sure that I'll suggest this for our state reading list for kids - I'm a volunteer reader for that, reading a lot of books this summer - because it is a pretty intense book, probably too intense for some readers.  (The problem is, I want to vote for Choldenko, but the only other choice we were given of hers is Al Capone Shines My Shoes.  Written three years ago, so four by the time the kids would get the list . . . way to be relevant, guys.)