Airborn: A Printz Honor Winner

This book has it all, action, adventure, tragedy, and a little bit of romance. The book grabs you from the very beginning and never let's go. It follows the story of boy in his early teens (15 or 16) that is a cabin boy on an airship. While the boy, Matt, is on watch duty he spots a hot air balloon that's been damaged and they proceed to give assistance. There is an old man in the balloon, it's only occupant, and he is badly injured. Before he dies he tells young Matt about a beautiful flying creature that no one has ever seen before. But his ranting and raving are passed of as the words of a confused dieing man. Then a year later Matt meets the old mans granddaughter who's is hell bent on proving her grandfather actually did see a real creature. And thus begins a thrill ride of an adventure that you won't want to put down until you reach the last page.My thoughts on the book:I finished this book a little over 2 days while I was on vacation. The characters are very well written, you get a good sense of who they are and become very attached to the few leading characters. The two main characters are Matt Cruse and Kate de Vries. Matt is a level headed young man who thinks everything through and does it quickly and doesn't hesitate to act when he thinks it's needed. He is very adapt on the air ship, and because he has spent so much time on them he know what everything does as well as every inch of them.Kate on the other hand is a strong willed young woman who doesn't let anything get in the way of her goal, and this gets her into trouble, as well as Matt, throughout the book. Kate is definitely not your average female who is helpless, she is very well studied and reads a lot of books and is very knowledgeable about things Matt has never dreamed of knowing about. That being said she does relay on him for some of the more practical things such as how to find there way back when they go traipsing through the jungle.All in all I really enjoyed this book it reminded me of some of the Jules Vern books I have read. Very fun and enjoyable read.

I'm always searching for books for my 15 year old son to read. My son loved Airborn, and so did I. This book was for my tastes far better than the typical young adult fare.First, the story itself is entertaining and creative. It isn't at all formulaic. It has a good balance between fantasy and reality. The era is nearly the same as the early 20th century, but there are enough subtle twists to make the reader suspend disbelief and accept the possibility of existence of strange creatures and undiscovered islands. For instance, the gas used to make the airships ligher than air is called "hydrium". The metal of the airship is "alumiron". There are continents named "Europa" and "North Americus". It's just delightful how Oppel's world in Airborn is almost, but not quite, the same as ours.Second, this is a really, really well written book. The writing technique is great. The mood is consistent and the vocabulary is just right for young adults. We're told the story from Matt's perspective, and to me his character, that of the female protagonist Kate, as well as the other main characters, are all well developed with just the right amount of introspection. The descriptions of action are great. The pace is even, and kept my attention enough that I finished the book in a couple of days. I've read a lot of young adult fiction, and I really think that Oppel is the best writer for young adults that I've read.Third, the book is perfect for general audiences. It shows that you don't need to have a lot of profanity, violence and sex to sell books and interest readers. My son is a pretty typical teen who likes Eminem, Robin Thicke, South Park, Family Guy, etc. But he also loved this book. As a parent, it was great to see my son enjoy a book with a hero who has a sense of duty, works hard and loves his family. There's no profanity and not much violence (and no graphic violence). There's certainly romance, but nothing risqué. One last thing- although the story 's central character is a boy, Matt, I would recommend this book for both boys and girls. Kate is every bit as interesting and well-developed a character as Matt.

This book is great. It’s an interesting read. The story grabs hold of you and it’s almost impossible to put it down.

Airships ! Pirates ! Mysterious islands ! Amazing discoveries !This book had the lot. It's a rip-roaring yarn of adventure set in a world where airships rule the skies and danger lurks for the unwary. Think Treasure Island meets Jules Verne. It would be the perfect YA read, except for the fact I'm over 50 and really enjoyed it. This was my first book by Kenneth Oppel, but it most likely won't be my last.

I bought this book on the back of a random ad on Facebook. Thought it was worth a 99p punt. I loved it. It would be a great read for a 12 year old but this 67 year old female thoroughly enjoyed Matt's adventures with Kate and the lovely airship Aurora. I can't wait to read the next one in the series.

Takes liberties with the Laws of Physics even for a Steam Punk alternative world - especially when Kate and Matt escape from the hydrium pit however.. It was a very enjoyable and exciting read including the chaste romance between Matt, the humble cabin boy and Kate the daughter of wealthy high society parents - of course it was all going to end happily but certainly kept the excitement going right to the end of book 3 Starclimber

I came across Oppel by chance and as I sometimes enjoy children's fiction, despite being over 40, and I like fantasy, and the plot sounded appealing, I gave it a try. How lucky I was! This is a terrific book and shows how so-called "junior fiction" can sometimes be much more than that. Set against a slightly mythologised and appealingly different high late Victorian / early Edwardian backdrop, the book features massive luxury airships touring the planet, devoted and brilliant airship crews, vicious pirates, mythic beasts, beautiful landscapes, treasure island and a lovely girl all in one! The main characters are the young airship apprentice Matt Cruse, who is anxious to get ahead in life despite a tragic and poor background, and Kate de Vries, wealthy, talented and beautiful but also tragic through the recent loss of her grandfather. Together they discover an incredible secret - first noted by her grandfather - a whole new and fantastic animal species. What follows is gripping adventure, beautiful description and a fantastically enjoyable and well written story. Brilliant!

It was a charming story with enough crazy, scary and heroic events in it to keep older children interested.I also enjoyed it. Plenty of derring do.