A review by kricketa
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

5.0

truly exciting and beautifully written adventure of matt cruse, cabin boy to the airship aurora, and kate de vries, a wealthy passenger on a mission of exploration. her late grandfather left documentation of a new species of strange winged creatures spotted during his fateful balloon trip, and kate intends to find the creatures. matt becomes her rather unwilling partner in the mission, as pirates hijack the airship and force a landing on an uncharted island.

i love the details in this story- that the hydrium keeping the airship aloft smells like mangoes, the way oppel drops foreshadowing in smooth as silk. it was a good time to start reading, as the third in the trilogy was just released. can't wait to get my hands on book 2.