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Airborn: A Printz Honor Winner by [Kenneth Oppel]

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Kenneth Oppel

Airborn: A Printz Honor Winner Kindle Edition

by Kenneth Oppel (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

619 ratings

Book 1 of 3: Airborn

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Sailing toward dawn, and I was perched atop the crow's nest, being the ship's eyes. We were two nights out of Sydney, and there'd been no weather to speak of so far. I was keeping watch on a dark stack of nimbus clouds off to the northwest, but we were leaving it far behind, and it looked to be smooth going all the way back to Lionsgate City. Like riding a cloud. . . .

Matt Cruse is a cabin boy on the Aurora, a huge airship that sails hundreds of feet above the ocean, ferrying wealthy passengers from city to city. It is the life Matt's always wanted; convinced he's lighter than air, he imagines himself as buoyant as the hydrium gas that powers his ship. One night he meets a dying balloonist who speaks of beautiful creatures drifting through the skies. It is only after Matt meets the balloonist's granddaughter that he realizes that the man's ravings may, in fact, have been true, and that the creatures are completely real and utterly mysterious.

In a swashbuckling adventure reminiscent of Jules Verne and Robert Louis Stevenson, Kenneth Oppel, author of the best-selling Silverwing trilogy, creates an imagined world in which the air is populated by transcontinental voyagers, pirates, and beings never before dreamed of by the humans who sail the skies.

Print length

378 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

HarperCollins
Publication date

September 10, 2009
Reading age

13 - 15 years
Grade level

8 - 9
File size

1096 KB
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Enabled
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Not Enabled
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Total Price: $35.97

Books In This Series (3 Books)

Complete Series

Airborn

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1
Airborn: A Printz Honor Winner
Kenneth Oppel

(619)

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2
Skybreaker
Kenneth Oppel

(328)

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3
Starclimber
Kenneth Oppel

(278)

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Kenneth Oppel
328
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Kenneth Oppel
278
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Kenneth Oppel
204
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Kenneth Oppel
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Scott Westerfeld
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Firewing: “Plenty of rousing action; special effects on a grand scale; a leavening of humor as well as stimulating thoughts.”

About the Author

KENNETH OPPEL is one of the most highly regarded authors of middle-grade fiction writing today. In addition to the Bloom trilogy, some of his best-known titles are Inkling, a New York Times notable book and a New York Public Library best book of the year; The Nest, which was named a New York Times editors’ choice and best book of the year by the CLA, the Globe and Mail, Publishers Weekly, the Wall Street Journal and Booklist, among others; Airborn, winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award and a Printz Honor Book; and the million-copy-selling Silverwing trilogy. Born on Vancouver Island, Oppel has lived in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, as well as England and Ireland. He now resides in Toronto with his wife and children. Find him online at www.kennethoppel.ca and @KennethOppel.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-10–An original and imaginative Victorian-era fantasy. Matt, 15, only feels alive when he's aloft working as a cabin boy aboard the Aurora,a luxury airship that is part dirigible, part passenger cruise ship. When wealthy Kate and her chaperone come aboard, Matt soon discovers that she is determined to prove her grandfather's claims that he saw strange creatures flying in the sky in that area the year before. The man's diary describes them as huge, furry beasts with batlike wings and sharp claws. Soon after Kate arrives, pirates attack the ship and rob the wealthy passengers. A storm forces the damaged Aurora to set down on a seemingly deserted island. Kate and Matt discover the skeletal remains of one of the creatures, and, later, a live but deformed one that lives among the treetops. In their attempts to photograph "the cloud cat," they stumble upon the pirates' hideout and are captured. Can they escape in time to stop the brigands from stealing the Aurora? Will Kate prove the existence of this undiscovered species? This rousing adventure has something for everyone: appealing and enterprising characters, nasty villains, and a little romance. Oppel provides glimpses of the social conventions of the era, humorous byplay between the main characters, and comic relief in the form of Matt's cabin mate and Kate's straitlaced chaperone. Reminiscent of Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines (HarperCollins, 2003), this adventure is much lighter in tone and has a lower body count.–Sharon Rawlins, Piscataway Public Library, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the audio_download edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-8. Matt Cruse is a cabin boy aboard the luxury passenger airship Aurora when the ship encounters a battered hot air balloon with an unconscious man aboard. Before dying, the man claims to have seen beautiful creatures swarming in the air over an uncharted island. Not until a year later, when Matt meets the man's granddaughter, Kate de Vries, who boards the Aurora, does he learn that the man wasn't hallucinating. Pirates board, rob, and kill, and a fierce storm grounds the Aurora on the very island that Kate's grandfather spoke about--which proves to be the pirates' secret hideaway. Though readers will need to suspend disbelief of the mysterious flying creatures, which Matt and Kate call "cloud cats," details of life and work aboard the ship as well as the dramatic escapade itself make this a captivating read. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the audio_download edition.

From AudioFile

This full-cast narration of a young adult science fiction adventure is, despite minor flaws, pure fun. Hero/narrator Matt (David Kelly), a cabin boy on a lighter-than-air liner in the book's Jules Vernesian world, finds adventure and romance among pirates and mysterious flying creatures on an uncharted island. Kelly's voice is irresistibly likable and engaging, though he does overact slightly. His narration frequently continues the tone of preceding speeches, especially questions. Some scenes call out for sound effects, and there are none. But these are quibbles. The original music is excellent; the story, if occasionally predictable, is well told and its world charming. The program as a whole is a nearly unalloyed pleasure. W.M. 2007 Audies Award Finalist © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the audio_download edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B002OMZTQW
Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins (September 10, 2009)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 10, 2009
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1096 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 378 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #289,223 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #62 in Teen & Young Adult Steampunk eBooks
- #114 in Teen & Young Adult Steampunk
- #218 in Teen & Young Adult Survival Stories eBooks

Customer Reviews:
619 ratings

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Kenneth Oppel

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Kenneth Oppel is the author of numerous books for young readers. His award-winning SILVERWING trilogy has sold over a million copies worldwide, and been adapted as an animated TV series and stage play. AIRBORN was winner of a Michael L Printz Honor Book Award, and the Canadian Governor General's Award for Children's Literature; its sequel, SKYBREAKER, was a New York Times bestseller and was named Children's Novel of the Year by the London Times. He is also the author of HALF BROTHER, THIS DARK ENDEAVOR, THE BOUNDLESS, and THE NEST (winner of the CLA Book of the Year for Children). His latest books are INKLING and BLOOM, the first book in a new sci-fi thriller series. Born on Vancouver Island, Oppel has lived in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, England, Ireland, and now lives in Toronto with his wife and children.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5

619 global ratings

5 star		80%
4 star		13%
3 star		6%
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1 star		1%

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fitzright2001

Absolutely loved it

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 19, 2022

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

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 17, 2014

Verified Purchase

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.

One person found this helpful

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Travelin' Dad

Wonderful!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 1, 2013

Verified Purchase

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.

13 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

M. Blair

Airships ! Pirates ! Adventure !

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 2, 2020

Verified Purchase

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.

One person found this helpful

Closet Romantic

Fantastic adventure story - not just for 12 year olds

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 13, 2021

Verified Purchase

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.

One person found this helpful

KENNETH OMOND

Rollicking tale with pirates, ornithopters, teenage angst with romantic jealousy and a weird space travel finale in book 3

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 25, 2021

Verified Purchase

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

One person found this helpful

J. W. Bottomley

Really a great read for anyone, not just young people

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 10, 2005

Verified Purchase

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!

13 people found this helpful

Uspidoll

KIDS, PIRATES AND LOFTY AMBITIONS

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 17, 2021

Verified Purchase

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.

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