Parents' Guide to

Passenger, Book 1

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 12+

Taut time-travel adventure-romance explores race, sex bias.

Book Alexandra Bracken Adventure 2016
Passenger, Book 1 Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

See all
age 12+

Based on 1 parent review

m2deloria
m2deloria Adult
October 30, 2019
age 12+

Time Travel for Teens

This book doesn’t get bogged down in the sciences time travel, but instead focuses on the difficulties the characters may face as a women, and as a black man in different counties and eras. The love story doesn’t take over the novel, but is important to the storyline. Some violence and swearing, but nothing worse than what teens are watching on YouTube or Netflix.

This title has:

Great messages
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

PASSENGER is an epic thriller about two teen time-travelers. Etta Spencer is a 17-year-old violin prodigy in modern-day New York City on the brink of her professional debut. Nineteen-year-old Nicholas is the adopted son of an 18th-century sea captain trying to escape his nefarious biological family, the Ironwoods, who want little to do with him, since his mother was their slave. Etta doesn't know she's a time traveler, but when she's kidnapped through a "passage" at the Metropolitan Museum, she ends up in 1776 on Nicholas' ship, to be taken back to the Ironwoods as part of a contract he'd like to fulfill so he can then be done with the Ironwoods forever. That is, until he actually meets Etta and realizes she has no idea who the Ironwoods are and what they want from her. Old Mr. Ironwood blackmails Etta to find a mysterious device he claims her mother (also, obviously, a time traveler) stole from him years ago and hid in another century. If she can't find it by a certain date, he'll kill her mother. Ironwood also coerces Nicholas to accompany Etta -- to make sure the device is brought back to him. As Etta and Nicholas set off across centuries and continents, they forge first a friendship and then something more, but time is not on their side.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (1):

Compelling and difficult to put down, this is a story that teaches about the past while also commenting on the present. Author Alexandra Bracken's popular dystopian trilogy The Darkest Minds is also action-packed and filled with capable characters and a strong romance, but Passenger takes things to another level by adding historical settings and context. Born in Colonial America to a slave and her master, Nicholas has the good fortune of being brought up by open-minded white relatives who free him and teach him how to be a seaman. To Nicholas, freedom is the sea, and his undeniable feelings for Etta seem dangerous and a distraction compared with the promise of his own ship. Meanwhile, Etta, who was raised in New York City where multiracial couples are commonplace, freely flirts, stares, and with her 21st-century mind doesn't understand how impossible the situation must seem to Nicholas.

The time rules vary from easy-to-understand (passengers can't visit a time in which they might come across themselves) to a bit more mercurial. But the only troublesome issue is that Cyrus Ironwood is almost too evil a villain. He's basically inhuman, but perhaps future installments will fix that. The supporting characters are wonderfully written, from Nicholas' inner circle of two -- his kind and wise father figure, Captain Hall, and fellow adopted brother, Chase -- to Etta's grandmotherly violin instructor, Alice, and her secret cousin, Hasan. Kudos to Bracken for tackling race, gender roles, family expectations, teen relationships, and the way power and greed corrupt men. Once readers finish the scream-inducing cliffhanger, they'll need to know what happens next.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the popularity of time travel in books and movies. What makes the theme unique in this book?

  • How does the author tackle tough subjects such as race and discrimination? What are the overt and subtle ways Nicholas has to deal with people treating him as less or undermining him because of the color of his skin?

  • Which would you choose: altering something in history to benefit you personally, even if it messes up society in general, or "fixing" a historical crisis but risking the future as you know it?

Book Details

See all recommended book lists

Related Topics

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate