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A review by pagesofpins
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
2.0
Matt Cruse is cabin boy on an airship who loves being airborn and hopes to follow in his father's footsteps. He sees an old man unconscious in a balloon and the airship rescues him, but he's raving insanely about the "beautiful creatures". On the next voyage, the old man's granddaughter Kate is aboard, determined to prove that the creatures exist. Reminicent of Treasure Island with a light touch of steampunk.
There's some great action sequences at the beginning, and the book seemed fairly well written, but Kate's character is exactly like every other outspoken Victorian female, and Matt is fairly flat other than his passion for the skies. This book also turns from adventure story to a lot of focus on the discovery of new creatures, and I was expecting more action and twists and turns. (Also, white cats that fly: what an odd choice for an imaginary creature!) I liked the world created, but a bit more complexity would not go amiss.
Recommending for tweens, especially those whose parents want "clean" reads.
There's some great action sequences at the beginning, and the book seemed fairly well written, but Kate's character is exactly like every other outspoken Victorian female, and Matt is fairly flat other than his passion for the skies. This book also turns from adventure story to a lot of focus on the discovery of new creatures, and I was expecting more action and twists and turns. (Also, white cats that fly: what an odd choice for an imaginary creature!) I liked the world created, but a bit more complexity would not go amiss.
Recommending for tweens, especially those whose parents want "clean" reads.