Airborn: A Printz Honor Winner

Kenneth Oppel

Sep 2009 · Harper Collins

About this ebook

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.

Ratings and reviews

One of my favorite series of all time. I am very picky about what I read to the extent that I won't even pick up a book that looks at me funny. This book and its sequels capture my heart every time I read them. I absolutely love Matt and Kate and their interactions, and all the characters are well fleshed out without so much heavy exposition into their personas that it becomes a brooding read. the descriptions are well thought out and balanced. overall this is a book that great enough to worship through your first read, yet friendly and fun enough to hang out with every once in while after you finish it.

my mom said i should read this so i was a little skeptical about reading it but she was right its a great book

This is my favorite book. I never get tired of reading it. It makes you wish the airships actually existed. If you dont like the book you are obviously not human.

About the author

KENNETH OPPEL is the bestselling author of numerous books for young readers. His award-winning Silverwing trilogy has sold over a million copies worldwide and was adapted into an animated TV series and stage play. Airborn won a Michael L. Printz Honor Book Award and the Governor General’s Literary Award; its sequel, Skybreaker, was a New York Times bestseller and was named Children’s Novel of the Year by the Times (UK). Kenneth Oppel is also the author of Half Brother, This Dark Endeavor, The Boundless, The Nest, Every Hidden Thing, Inkling and the Bloom trilogy. His latest novel is Ghostlight. Ken Oppel lives with his family in Toronto.