Airborn

By Kenneth Oppel

Matt Cruise is a cabin boy on a tremendous airship that sails hundreds of thousands of feet above the ocean, ferrying enormously wealthy passengers from city to city. The airship is known as the Aurora, and Matt is ecstatic to have the chance to fly upon this ship day in and day out. It's what he's always dreamed of, as he often images himself as the gas that powers the ship. One night while aboard the Aurora, Matt meets a dying balloonist, who tells Matt about all kinds of beautiful creatures that drift through the skies. Matt, knowing that this sounds crazy, ignores what the man says. But later, when he meets the man's granddaughter, Matt realizes that the man's ravings could very well have been true. And that the creatures in which he spoke about, are completely true. As a fan of Kenneth Oppel's SILVERWING trilogy, I was ecstatic to hear about his newest addition to the literary world, AIRBORN. Let me tell you, I was not disappointed in even the slightest way. AIRBORN is an exciting thrill-ride of an adventure, that takes the reader through space, and clouds, where we get to meet up with pirates, voyagers, and all types of other humans and creatures who tour the sky day and night. Matt was an exciting character, who will be loved by readers, as he is very optimistic, and intelligent, and his imagination is much like a childs, what with his constant fantasies about sailing through the sky, and being the gas that powers the airship. Fans of Oppel's SILVERWING trilogy will find it hard to put down AIRBORN.

Erika Sorocco