No Passengers Beyond This Point (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
Im fortunate that at the ages of 11 and 12 my children still love to have me read to them. Over the years we have read hundreds of books together. Unfortunately this book ranks at the bottom of them all.The author is clearly very talented as the prose is quite good and the character development is also good. Unfortunately Ms. Choldenko never combines theme and plot in this book - the reader is left to wonder what is going on before during and after reading the book. One must wait until the last chapter, the last dozen pages to even understand what was going on in the book.Dream-state books can be fun and challanging but in this case the characters' real struggle in this book is so esoteric that once the secret of the narritive is revealed in the last 10 pages the reader has long since lost interest. The best description for this kind of fantasy is that it is a 'shaggy dog tale.'As an aside the topics of the loss of a parent and the loss of one's home through forclosure are specifically and gratuitously used in this book. If you and/or your children have experienced either or both of these, some portions of this book will be painful. Moreover, that pain will not be reconciled or explained in any meaningful way - the foreclosure and death of a parent are but hollow vehicles used to advance a contrived plot. 2 stars is generous. Book: No Passengers Beyond This PointIt all starts when, one day, India, Finn, and Mouse's (three siblings) house becomes foreclosed. There mom was planning to send them to a long loss relative, but she had never met him before (Uncle Red). Alone, the kids travel. There was no time shown anywhere, and they weren't even on the map!Later on, they meet a mysterious taxi driver that was supposed to take them to Uncle Red's house. And soon takes the kids to another town called Falling Bird. Chuck betrays them and abandons them in front of the 3 random houses. But Chuck also gives 3 sticks. When the kids put the sticks together, their time begins, to find a hidden box, if they don't find it in time, they will have to live in Falling Bird with the mysterious people forever.
What do You think about No Passengers Beyond This Point (2011)?
3 children in a horrible plane crash enter a fantasy world to cope with what happened
—noblewolff
I love Choldenko's Alcatraz books. This one took an almost too-weird turn for me.
—Kelly
I hated this book until the end where there was a twist. It was a little steange
—clefairy
