Passport by Sophia Glock

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Passport

Author: Sophia Glock

Book Series: Standalone

Diversity: Bisexual mc
Latinx side characters

Rating: 5/5

Recommended For…: Young adult readers, biography, graphic novel

Genre: YA Biography Graphic Novel

Publication Date: November 30, 2021

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Pages: 320

Recommended Age: 16+ (Sexual harassment, Rape mentioned, Being Outed, Kidnapping mentioned, Bullying, Drug use mentioned, Death mentioned, Gore mentioned, Suicide
mentioned, Sex mentioned, Alcohol consumption by minors, Language, Romance, Child abuse mentioned, Pedophilia hinted at, Sexual assualt)

Explanation of CWs: There is sexual harassment and sexual assault in the book. Rape and kidnapping are mentioned, with rape and/or consent being discussed about 3 times. There are two instances of the main character being outed. Bullying is shown. Drug use is mentioned a handful of times. Death is mentioned and a dead body is shown in a casket at a funeral. Gore is mentioned and suicide is discussed. Sex is mentioned and alcohol consumption is shown. While the age of consent is 18 where the MC is, I don’t believe she herself is 18. There are a couple of curse words. Child abuse is mentioned and there is one instance where a character says a bartender caters to her because he likes little girls and both are very young, if not minor, children. There is also some romance scenes shown.

Synopsis: Young Sophia has lived in so many different countries, she can barely keep count. Stationed now with her family in Central America because of her parents’ work, Sophia feels displaced as an American living abroad, when she has hardly spent any of her life in America.

Everything changes when she reads a letter she was never meant to see and uncovers her parents’ secret. They are not who they say they are. They are working for the CIA. As Sophia tries to make sense of this news, and the web of lies surrounding her, she begins to question everything. The impact that this has on Sophia’s emerging sense of self and understanding of the world makes for a page-turning exploration of lies and double lives.

In the hands of this extraordinary graphic storyteller, this astonishing true story bursts to life.

Review: I really enjoyed this graphic novel. I didn’t expect the graphic novel to go where it went, but it was a really fun read that focused a lot on the teenage trials and tribulations outside of having parents that are spies LOL. I also appreciate that the book talked about colonization and poverty in Central America. I also liked that the book touched on activism and consent. The character development was really well done and I absolutely love the illustrations. I also thought The world building was fairly well done and the story is well written.

My only issue with the book is that from the synopsis it sounds like the story is going to go one way I e with our main character finding out that her parents are spiced and having to deal with that, but that was barely a blip on this teenagers radar in the book. The book mainly focused on this teenage girl figuring out life and her parents being spies was in a side to it. I really hope that there is a sequel because I really enjoyed the story overall, but I would like to see more of an emphasis on having to maintain the secret in living this lifestyle.

Verdict: Highly recommend!