zepysgirl's review against another edition
3.0
Feeling very ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ about this one. It’s not good, it’s not bad; it’s just fine.
twiinklex's review
4.0
I'm glad I went into this blind as the synopsis might (mis)lead readers into thinking that the book is centered on Sophia discovering her parents' secret. That's actually only a small aspect of this beautiful graphic memoir, which explores themes of identity, sexuality, belonging and more.
I love the minimal colour palette of peach and greyish-purple. The artwork is relatively simple and I had difficulty differentiating the female characters at times as they all looked similar. Overall, I enjoyed the minimalist art style and found it fitting for the book.
A rather poignant read, and I would recommend it for fans of This One Summer, Just So Happens and My Last Summer With Cass.
I love the minimal colour palette of peach and greyish-purple. The artwork is relatively simple and I had difficulty differentiating the female characters at times as they all looked similar. Overall, I enjoyed the minimalist art style and found it fitting for the book.
A rather poignant read, and I would recommend it for fans of This One Summer, Just So Happens and My Last Summer With Cass.
mlangman's review
3.0
This is the story of a young woman who finds out her parents are part of the CIA...kind of. It was an enjoyable read, but I only gave it three stars because it felt like it was two stories rolled into one and neither was fully fleshed out. The first is the story of a young woman who feels disconnected from her world and tries to find out why, only to discover that her parents are in the CIA. Then, once she makes this discovery, the story shifts and it becomes a somewhat typical coming-of-age story about a teen trying to make friends, making bad choices, etc. It doesn't really return to her parents' story until the very end, and even then, only somewhat. I suspect, based on the author's note, that the CIA heavily restricted what information she could include, but as a result, the story is left kind of vague and unsatisfying.
(I received this as an ARC in my ALAN book box.)
(I received this as an ARC in my ALAN book box.)
dinipandareads's review
3.0
I kind of feel weird rating someone’s memoir since it’s so personal and obviously real but I think I was expecting something a little different to what we got. Passport is Sophia Glock’s coming-of-age story. We follow her tumultuous teenage thoughts and feelings as she comes of age in a foreign country, surrounded by people she’s not sure are really her friends and parents who are secretive and distant. There were things that I found relatable as someone who had a similar(ish) upbringing and I thought this was an interesting memoir!
Things I enjoyed:
- As someone who grew up in a somewhat similar situation (minus the secret agent parents), I related to her teen experiences. I really related to the author’s feeling of not belonging where she grew up but also not belonging where she was born because yes, it’s such a stark and confusing feeling, and it sticks with you!
- The art style perfectly complemented the story! The characters all seem to blend with the same/similar physical features with minor differences between them, which seems to indicate how the author has distanced herself or feels unattached towards the people around her. The only people who seem to have distinctive features are her family, especially her parents and sister, and I think that's a great way to show who were the significant players in her life. I also loved how certain items were suddenly in a different colour which to me indicated how important or impactful it was to her (like that red dress)!
- One of the main reasons I requested to read this was because I had a somewhat similar upbringing minus the secret agent parents. However, growing up as a Third Culture Kid is such a unique experience and has such a lasting impact on all of us and I always love to see how others experienced it. I definitely related to some of the author's restlessness and the air of anticipation and expectation for something to happen. I also related to a lot of the sneaking out to the dodgiest places in foreign countries with that air of danger but also feeling invincible and anonymous enough to get away with it and have nothing happen to me (which is honestly ridiculous lol)!
Things I enjoyed:
- As someone who grew up in a somewhat similar situation (minus the secret agent parents), I related to her teen experiences. I really related to the author’s feeling of not belonging where she grew up but also not belonging where she was born because yes, it’s such a stark and confusing feeling, and it sticks with you!
- The art style perfectly complemented the story! The characters all seem to blend with the same/similar physical features with minor differences between them, which seems to indicate how the author has distanced herself or feels unattached towards the people around her. The only people who seem to have distinctive features are her family, especially her parents and sister, and I think that's a great way to show who were the significant players in her life. I also loved how certain items were suddenly in a different colour which to me indicated how important or impactful it was to her (like that red dress)!
- One of the main reasons I requested to read this was because I had a somewhat similar upbringing minus the secret agent parents. However, growing up as a Third Culture Kid is such a unique experience and has such a lasting impact on all of us and I always love to see how others experienced it. I definitely related to some of the author's restlessness and the air of anticipation and expectation for something to happen. I also related to a lot of the sneaking out to the dodgiest places in foreign countries with that air of danger but also feeling invincible and anonymous enough to get away with it and have nothing happen to me (which is honestly ridiculous lol)!
catra121's review
3.0
This was just ok for me. I didn't really feel much at all while reading this and didn't connect with or like the main character at all. I didn't really dislike her either...just...meh. Nothing about this one stood out to me as memorable or meaningful so I don't know that I would recommend it. It was fine...just...nothing special for me.