This is the third book in an alternate reality created by
world-renowned Kenneth Oppel. In this book, the airplane has not
been developed but flying machines, gliders, blimps and balloons
are the mode of air transportation. The first two books Airborn and
Skybreaker have won almost every Canadian children's literary
award. Combined they have won: Governor General's Award, Ruth and
Sylvia Schwartz Award (twice), Red Maple Award (twice), Michael L
Printz Honor Book (ALA). They have won 26 awards and been nominated
for another 7. The interesting thing is, this was the first book in
this series to come across my desk and was read as an independent
story. It stands strong on its own and left me wanting to read the
first two.
This story is part of the saga of Matt Cruse and Kate de Vries, two
young people in love and pursuing higher education to realize their
dreams - Matt of becoming a captain on an airship and Kate of
becoming a world-class scientist and researcher, especially zoology
in the stratosphere. It is also the story of the race to space. The
French are trying to build a tower into space, and Matt and Kate
are called home to Canada, to be part of Canada's attempt. Kate is
outright invited to be a scientist on the Mission. Matt must go
through a grueling training regime and compete with over a hundred
people hoping to be an astronaut aboard the Canadian ship
Starclimber. Matt is a skilled Skysailor but can he compete with so
many older and more experienced men?
The story is part science fiction, part romance, and part social
commentary. Oppel does an excellent job of weaving the different
elements into a cohesive tale that is compelling and addicting. You
reach a point in the book where you do not want to put it down. The
greatest strength of the story is the incredible characters that
seem so real, and the powerful narrative technique used by Oppel
that makes you feel like you are there and part of the action. The
story has a great pace that picks up speed as it moves along and
finishes like a runaway train dragging us along with it, racing to
the end.
This is a great novel and like the others in the series will
probably win numerous awards.
(First Published in Imprint 2009-03-13.)