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beastreader's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this book however my complaints were that it jumped around without really good explanation. For example when April was kidnapped, there was no clues given as to the reason behind the kidnapping. Of course it was revealed the reason why later in the book but it was like it was a big secret as to why. Which kind of drove me crazy. I wanted answers but just got questions and more questions as the story went on because nothing was revealed until the end. There was not enough structure. The story went by in a breeze. Thus I could not just enjoy the story as much as I was too busy trying to piece together all that was happening and the "why" factor.
I so wished that I could have liked April more but I could not. I was suppose to cheer for her and I did but I thought she came off at times annoying, too smart for her own good, and a little boring. What I did like about this book was the world of aviation and traveling the skies. I had thought about being a airline stewardess at one point and probably would have done so until I met my husband. This is the type of life that I thought single people would be good for or people who have been doing it a long time before they met their spouse and not during. This type of job does require odd hours and lots of travel time away from home. I am interested to see what Hollis Gillespie comes out with next.
I so wished that I could have liked April more but I could not. I was suppose to cheer for her and I did but I thought she came off at times annoying, too smart for her own good, and a little boring. What I did like about this book was the world of aviation and traveling the skies. I had thought about being a airline stewardess at one point and probably would have done so until I met my husband. This is the type of life that I thought single people would be good for or people who have been doing it a long time before they met their spouse and not during. This type of job does require odd hours and lots of travel time away from home. I am interested to see what Hollis Gillespie comes out with next.
singerji's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
shelvesofsecrets's review against another edition
3.0
Unaccompanied Minor and I got off to a bit of a rocky start. At first the main character, April, really rubbed me the wrong way. She was super snarky and had no respect for authority (which, to be fair, authority doesn't always do the right thing).
However, as the book continued, I began to enjoy the story and April a lot more. I'm not sure if she got less snarky or I got more used to it or I just say her other traits that made me like her a lot more.
One thing about this story is that it felt really unrealistic. April goes through more crap before her 16th birthday that anyone should in their whole life. I know people have hard lives, but it felt like such a huge level of crazy that it didn't really feel real to me. However, if I set all of my disbelief aside, Unaccompanied Minor is a very entertaining read. I mean, it's a pair of teens (and company) saving a hijacked plane with only a their wits, a flight attendant manual and an impressive knowledge of MacGyver.
The secondary characters are probably my favorite part of this book. Flo is just awesome and so funny. Officer Ned is such a great guy, despite his gruff persona.
Give this one a try if you like snarky young protagonists who know how to take care of themselves or airplanes.
However, as the book continued, I began to enjoy the story and April a lot more. I'm not sure if she got less snarky or I got more used to it or I just say her other traits that made me like her a lot more.
One thing about this story is that it felt really unrealistic. April goes through more crap before her 16th birthday that anyone should in their whole life. I know people have hard lives, but it felt like such a huge level of crazy that it didn't really feel real to me. However, if I set all of my disbelief aside, Unaccompanied Minor is a very entertaining read. I mean, it's a pair of teens (and company) saving a hijacked plane with only a their wits, a flight attendant manual and an impressive knowledge of MacGyver.
The secondary characters are probably my favorite part of this book. Flo is just awesome and so funny. Officer Ned is such a great guy, despite his gruff persona.
Give this one a try if you like snarky young protagonists who know how to take care of themselves or airplanes.
rkendylb's review against another edition
2.0
While this is not the best book ice ever read, it is really exciting. I love April's sense of humor and the fact that she isn't afraid of danger, but she doesn't seem to have much of a weakness or to grow up a lot throughout the course of the story. Despite this, Unaccompanied Minor is a good book especially if you're looking for an exciting story.
liralen's review against another edition
3.0
April, our fearless protagonist. Descended from a long line of airline workers, most recently her mother (off-scene in the book), her father (long since deceased), and her despised stepfather. At 14, April has spent much of her life on planes, and studying planes, and preparing to be a flight attendant as soon as she is legally able. She's smart. She's independent. She's deeply, deeply irritating.
She's also on the run, and it's going to take all her resources to free herself after a kidnapping, evade her stepfather -- and, oh yes, foil a hijacking.
It bears repeating: April is annoying. She has few filters, doesn't tend to apply rules to herself, and knows how to get under the skin of character after long-suffering character. But you also have to admire her -- she's tenacious, and creative, and has a (not entirely believable) understanding of planes to rival any professional. At 14, she's interested in flirting primarily out of curiosity; as a female protagonist in the land of YA literature, she's refreshing.
Plot-wise: Do I believe it? No. Not remotely. I'll believe what the author is telling me about planes (and, sure, trunks and airline regulations and so on) but not so much that April would have such extensive knowledge to draw on. The truly craptastic work of the family court strikes me as over the top. (My knowledge of any court is limited at best, so I could be wrong. But, well, it's kind of catastrophically bad here.) I'm not really sold on Flo's revelation.
Not going on my (hypothetical) list of Best Books Ever. Is going on my (also hypothetical) I Should Read the Sequel list.
I received a free copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway.
She's also on the run, and it's going to take all her resources to free herself after a kidnapping, evade her stepfather -- and, oh yes, foil a hijacking.
It bears repeating: April is annoying. She has few filters, doesn't tend to apply rules to herself, and knows how to get under the skin of character after long-suffering character. But you also have to admire her -- she's tenacious, and creative, and has a (not entirely believable) understanding of planes to rival any professional. At 14, she's interested in flirting primarily out of curiosity; as a female protagonist in the land of YA literature, she's refreshing.
Plot-wise: Do I believe it? No. Not remotely. I'll believe what the author is telling me about planes (and, sure, trunks and airline regulations and so on) but not so much that April would have such extensive knowledge to draw on. The truly craptastic work of the family court strikes me as over the top. (My knowledge of any court is limited at best, so I could be wrong. But, well, it's kind of catastrophically bad here.) I'm not really sold on Flo's revelation.
Not going on my (hypothetical) list of Best Books Ever. Is going on my (also hypothetical) I Should Read the Sequel list.
I received a free copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway.
quietjenn's review against another edition
4.0
3 1/2. Every once in a while, I think of an author that I read as a twentysomething and who made an impression - one way or the other - and I think, "I wonder whatever happened to her?" And sometimes I find out that she just wrote a y.a. book.
If you read the description it will come as no surprise that it requires a huuuuuuge suspension of disbelief. But, if you give it to it, it's a fast, very entertaining read with a terrific voice.
If you read the description it will come as no surprise that it requires a huuuuuuge suspension of disbelief. But, if you give it to it, it's a fast, very entertaining read with a terrific voice.
jennerbee's review against another edition
3.0
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley to review.
This book was interesting. I liked all of the facts about airplanes and first aid. Those portions were well researched. I liked how we bounced back and forth between interviews and phone calls to the actual story. The protagonist came across as way too clever at times, particularly during the end. Her detailed knowledge of airplanes made sense in the context of her studying the manual and living on airplanes. The author somehow made that aspect believable, which I applaud. There was one moment toward the end that was absolutely ridiculous and not at all likely, but overall the book was pretty good.
This book was interesting. I liked all of the facts about airplanes and first aid. Those portions were well researched. I liked how we bounced back and forth between interviews and phone calls to the actual story. The protagonist came across as way too clever at times, particularly during the end. Her detailed knowledge of airplanes made sense in the context of her studying the manual and living on airplanes. The author somehow made that aspect believable, which I applaud. There was one moment toward the end that was absolutely ridiculous and not at all likely, but overall the book was pretty good.
coolcurrybooks's review against another edition
2.0
I did find Unaccompanied Minor amusing, but I think it had a lot of problems in terms of pace and plotting.
Unaccompanied Minor is a short, YA adventure novel about a fourteen year old girl who comes from a long legacy of airline employees. When her mom’s in a psychiatric hospital and someone tries to kidnap her from her stepfather’s apartment, fourteen year old April Manning survives by living in airport lounges and passing as a flight attendant. Then, she happens to be on a plan when it gets unexpectedly hijacked by the same people who tried to kidnap her earlier. She has to save the day with the help of a wounded police officer, another unaccompanied minor, his service dog, and a 67 year old flight attendant named Flo.
Unaccompanied Minor is told through a compilation of various documents, mainly an after the fact interview by the police. I don’t think this structure worked well. For one, it meant that the entire first half of the book kept suggesting what would happen and referring to future events, which took forever to arrive. This is not a long book – only about 250 pages – but so much of it was spent explaining April’s family history instead of focusing on the main events. That combined with the style led to an ambling mess of a book.
All that said, Unaccompanied Minor was still funny in parts, if not laugh out loud hilarious. There were a few good running jokes – I liked the repetition of “We see things differently.” However, the most interesting part of this book was its setting in the aviation industry (particularly since it was written by a flight attendant…). It led me to wonder how many of the insiders secrets were true, such as the character Flo who had a secret smoking spot on every different model plane.
In the end, I would only reluctantly recommend Unaccompanied Minor as a lighter read.
Originally posted on
Unaccompanied Minor is a short, YA adventure novel about a fourteen year old girl who comes from a long legacy of airline employees. When her mom’s in a psychiatric hospital and someone tries to kidnap her from her stepfather’s apartment, fourteen year old April Manning survives by living in airport lounges and passing as a flight attendant. Then, she happens to be on a plan when it gets unexpectedly hijacked by the same people who tried to kidnap her earlier. She has to save the day with the help of a wounded police officer, another unaccompanied minor, his service dog, and a 67 year old flight attendant named Flo.
Unaccompanied Minor is told through a compilation of various documents, mainly an after the fact interview by the police. I don’t think this structure worked well. For one, it meant that the entire first half of the book kept suggesting what would happen and referring to future events, which took forever to arrive. This is not a long book – only about 250 pages – but so much of it was spent explaining April’s family history instead of focusing on the main events. That combined with the style led to an ambling mess of a book.
All that said, Unaccompanied Minor was still funny in parts, if not laugh out loud hilarious. There were a few good running jokes – I liked the repetition of “We see things differently.” However, the most interesting part of this book was its setting in the aviation industry (particularly since it was written by a flight attendant…). It led me to wonder how many of the insiders secrets were true, such as the character Flo who had a secret smoking spot on every different model plane.
In the end, I would only reluctantly recommend Unaccompanied Minor as a lighter read.
Originally posted on
thatlibrarynerd's review against another edition
5.0
April is a compelling protagonist. She's spunky and resourceful. She narrates the story and it really does feel like someone is telling the story rather than it simply being written in first person. This is not a book focused on character development, but it is a character-driven story.
That said, April is not the only character and has plenty of colorful, eccentric co-stars.
The plot develops in such a way that you don't realize it's been unfolding until all the pieces come together. As for the setting, well, think you know everything about airline travel? Think again!
That said, April is not the only character and has plenty of colorful, eccentric co-stars.
The plot develops in such a way that you don't realize it's been unfolding until all the pieces come together. As for the setting, well, think you know everything about airline travel? Think again!