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A review by starklinqs
You Are Here: Connecting Flights by Ellen Oh
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Overall I really enjoyed this book - I had checked it out because I loved Ellen Oh’s book Spirit Hunters, and I was pleasantly surprised to see a diverse range of Asian American authors worked on it, not just her! These stories were short and great - I think the only one that didn’t really hit for me was AJ’s story, unfortunately. Some of these stories could feel a bit “90s PSA” but only faintly, and it’s obviously for a middle school demographic so I didn’t quite mind. However, AJ’s felt very blatant and forced, almost like the author was trying too hard to talk like a Gen Z kid. The other stories were great though, and I really appreciated how they interconnected! There’s definitely some characters in here who I would have loved to follow along with longer.
I also do wish that we could have seen the perspective of a South Asian character/author, however. I don’t fault the authors for this - I’m sure this is based on availability and they very much specifically mentioned the COVID-19 pandemic, which is going to affect East and Southeast Asians, not South Asians. But I was hoping for a South Asian story as well, especially with this centering on Asian Americans in an airport. Not every Asian centered story needs to focus each and every single part of the diaspora, but I couldn’t help but feel there was a missed opportunity with this setting - though again, they probably wanted to focus on COVID and the reactions and racism uniquely faced by a part of Asian Americans, which is completely fair!
This was a great book and I think will be wonderful for its target demographic - and probably older; I certainly still enjoyed it and the authors did a great job.
Overall I really enjoyed this book - I had checked it out because I loved Ellen Oh’s book Spirit Hunters, and I was pleasantly surprised to see a diverse range of Asian American authors worked on it, not just her! These stories were short and great - I think the only one that didn’t really hit for me was AJ’s story, unfortunately. Some of these stories could feel a bit “90s PSA” but only faintly, and it’s obviously for a middle school demographic so I didn’t quite mind. However, AJ’s felt very blatant and forced, almost like the author was trying too hard to talk like a Gen Z kid. The other stories were great though, and I really appreciated how they interconnected! There’s definitely some characters in here who I would have loved to follow along with longer.
I also do wish that we could have seen the perspective of a South Asian character/author, however. I don’t fault the authors for this - I’m sure this is based on availability and they very much specifically mentioned the COVID-19 pandemic, which is going to affect East and Southeast Asians, not South Asians. But I was hoping for a South Asian story as well, especially with this centering on Asian Americans in an airport. Not every Asian centered story needs to focus each and every single part of the diaspora, but I couldn’t help but feel there was a missed opportunity with this setting - though again, they probably wanted to focus on COVID and the reactions and racism uniquely faced by a part of Asian Americans, which is completely fair!
This was a great book and I think will be wonderful for its target demographic - and probably older; I certainly still enjoyed it and the authors did a great job.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism