Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold by
Iain Reading
(A huge thanks to the publicist and the author for sending me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)
Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold is the thrilling first installment in a new series of adventure mystery stories that are one part travel, one part history and five parts adventure. This first book of the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series introduces Kitty Hawk, an intrepid teenage pilot with her own De Havilland Beaver seaplane and a nose for mystery and intrigue. A cross between Amelia Earhart, Nancy Drew and Pippi Longstocking, Kitty is a quirky young heroine with boundless curiosity and a knack for getting herself into all kinds of precarious situations.
After leaving her home in the western Canadian fishing village of Tofino to spend the summer in Alaska studying humpback whales Kitty finds herself caught up in an unforgettable adventure involving stolen gold, devious criminals, ghostly shipwrecks, and bone-chilling curses. Kitty's adventure begins with the lingering mystery of a sunken ship called the Clara Nevada and as the plot continues to unfold this spirited story will have armchair explorers and amateur detectives alike anxiously following every twist and turn as they are swept along through the history of the Klondike Gold Rush to a suspenseful final climatic chase across the rugged terrain of Canada's Yukon, the harsh land made famous in the stories and poems of such writers as Jack London, Robert Service and Pierre Berton. It is a riveting tale that brings to glorious life the landscape and history of Alaska's inside passage and Canada's Yukon, as Kitty is caught up in an epic mystery set against the backdrop of the scenery of the Klondike Gold Rush.
Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold is a perfect book to fire the imagination of readers of all ages. Filled with fascinating and highly Google-able locations and history this book will inspire anyone to learn and experience more for themselves as Kitty prepares for her next adventure - flying around the world!
Kitty is the star of the book and the entire story is from her perspective. The thing I loved the most about Kitty is that she has these conversations with herself which was so relatable! She argues with herself which is something I do a lot! Also it was wonderful to see a main character who liked geography and biology. It's not everyday that YA books have such a protagonist. But I must say that Kitty sounded a little younger than a young adult! While the fact that she's flying a plane around the world reminds me that she is an adult, the way she talks and behaves made me feel that she was a lot younger. I felt like she was a younger Nancy Drew who loved adventures!
Every character Kitty meets have an important role both in the book and Kitty's life. It was nice to see her interactions with her parents and friends. I loved that the starting chapters focused so much on Kitty's relationships with the most important people in her life. I feel this gives readers a very good idea about Kitty's personality before diving into the actual adventure!
'Wherever we are in this world, we are not alone. We are not the only creatures who find life in the sky and water and land. We are not the only creatures who need it. And we cannot just take and take and take. We have to give. And we have to respect.'
The plot is basically the adventures Kitty faces as she studies whales. When Kitty is suddenly pulled into a gold rush adventure, things get worrisome. While normally the pace with which the plot unfolded would have been slow for me, I liked it here because even before the actual plot starts, we learn a lot about other things such as flying, the whales, the geography and culture of Alaska etc. I found all these quite interesting to know about and there wasn't a single boring moment in the book.
The writing flows quite effortlessly even when the chapters aren't in chronological order. Sometimes the chapters weren't continuous and there are time gaps between them; but this never hindered me during reading. I loved the internal conversations Kitty has with herself and also the vivid descriptions of the places she visits and the sights she sees. At times there was a lot of information to absorb in a single page and I had to reread things a bit which is pretty much the only complaint I have about the writing style.
- Kitty's conversations with herself
- All the Biology, geography and history facts
- The slow but steady plot
- The writing for the most part
- The fact that Kitty seemed a lot younger for her age at times
- Too much information at times
If you're looking for a fun filled adventure along with a lot of scientific facts, this is a must read. The story has a wonderful MC, a fun plot, a light romance and loads of adventure!
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