90. Airborn

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
First book in the Airborn series

Pages: 322
Finished: May 19, 2008
First Published: 2004
Genre: YA, fantasy
Rating: 5/5

Reason for Reading: once upon a time challenge. YA challenge. I've read all the Silverwing books and wanted to start this series now since the third book is coming out this fall.

First sentence:

Sailing towards dawn, and I was perched atop the crow's nest, being the
ship's eyes.

Comments: Matt Cruse works as a cabin boy on the airship Aurora. His father, before him, worked and died on this ship and Matt himself was born on an airship. Sailing is in his blood and he feels he was born to be in the air. He befriends a girl passenger who is making her first air voyage to prove the existence of strange air creatures that her recently deceased grandfather was thought to have imagined. While making a routine voyage with a full load of passenger's and cargo they are attacked and boarded by pirates. This is the beginning of Matt and Kate's deadly adventures.

I loved this book! There is not one single thing that did not appeal to me. Set in an alternate earth similar to the Victorian era only instead of sailing the seas their ships sail the skies. This is a rip-roaring, rollicking good nautical adventure that takes place in the air. Strange creatures, air pirates, shipwreck and desert islands, it is all here. A strong female character with an equally strong male character will appeal to both boys and girls. As per usual with Oppel the death scenes can bit on the gory side and this is definitely a YA book. Both an absorbing plot and wonderfully in-depth character development, along with a fully developed alternate world make this a page-turning adventure. Highly recommended. I can't wait to read the next book!