Oppel, Kenneth. Airborn.
New York: Eos, Harper Collins Publishers. 2004. 355 pgs.
Printz Honor. YA. Fantasy.
Sailing toward dawn, and I was perched atop the crow's nest, being the ships eyes.
Matt Cruse is the cabin boy aboard the Aurora and his deepest desire is to become a captain someday. He loves being in the air and scrambles around the ship with little fear. Because of his small build he is sent to rescue a man in a sinking hot air balloon. Matt listens to the dying man rant about mysterious creatures he has observed.
One year later Matt loses a promotion to the rich son of the ship’s owner. On the same voyage he meets the rambunctious granddaughter of the man who witnessed the mysterious creatures. It doesn’t take long for a friendship to strike up between the Matt and Kate. Unfortunately, the Aurora is soon boarded by pirates who loot the ship and don’t hesitate to kill. The pirates’ parting gift is to rip the hydrium tanks holding the Aurora aloft and leave her to sink to their deaths. The ship crash lands on the beach of a tropical, deserted island.
The two teens explore the island and discover evidence of the mysterious creatures. But what good is evidence when they are stranded on an island in the middle of the Pacificus Ocean? And what happens when Kate and Matt discover the island isn’t as deserted as they thought?
A fast paced adventure where something interesting is always happening. The themes in the story were not pressed hard but skillfully interwoven into the action oriented plot. Kate and Matt both struggled with the difficulties of their stations, one being a girl and the other being poor. Matt also touches on the subject of his father’s death. There is also the slightest touch of romance. Teens, especially males, will be drawn to the adventure of the story.
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