Skybreaker--Kenneth Oppel

I loved this book. Loved. Devoured. Could not stop reading even though I was so tired and knew I would be up early the next morning.

Matt Cruse and Kate De Vries from Airborn have another sky adventure. Now a student at the Air Academy, Matt is struggling with his studies. Thinking that he would do well because of his natural skill, he is surprised by his difficulty with the numbers and physics and theory behind air travel. Kate offers him a chance to salvage a "ghost ship" and make his fortune. He, Kate and a young gypsy girl catch a ride with a new ship--a skybreaker--capable of flying at the dangerously high altitudes the ghost ship travels (in skyberia). Not only do they have to deal with airborn creatures, they also have to contend with pirates after the same loot.

I loved the story, I loved the relationship with Kate and Matt and the jealousy that arises when Matt befriends the gypsy girl and Kate befriends the young captain of the skybreaker. The adventure was good, the writing was good. There was a typo, but they did a much better job proofreading this one than the last one! Although it can be read as a stand-alone, it's so much better if you've read the first one and know the history. The story wraps up nicely but it would be great to see other adventures in later books.

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Reading:
On My Nightstand: Stormbreaker--Horowitz, others.

Girls Dinner Club--Jessie Elliot

Three girls get together and make dinner. They each have their own problems and discover that no one is perfect and how much friendship can help.

I hate giving bad reviews... and this isn't really a "bad" book but I didn't find it very realistic. I thought the teens had far too much freedom. One of the characters lived by herself because her parents both had jobs overseas. I just don't see that happening. I also don't see teen girls getting together and making dinner that involves anything other than a microwave and a frozen dinner in a box. The dialogue didn't ring true either. I found myself doubting that teens would talk this way.

It's very possible that I'm just not in the right frame of mind for "fluffy" books and that's why I didn't really like this one or want to finish Lucky T. I can say that I devoured Skybreaker by Kenneth Oppel and that is not a fluffy book...
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Reading:
On My Nightstand:

Lucky T--Kate Brian

I started this book and haven't finished it. It's not bad, it just wasn't enough to keep me riveted when I had a million other things to do. Carrie's mom sends her favorite lucky t-shirt to charity in a foreign country and Carrie's luck ends. Her boyfriend breaks up with her, she fights with her best friend, and decides she needs to do anything to get that t-shirt back.

Perhaps someday I'll finish and find out if she gets her t-shirt back.
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Reading:
On My Nightstand:

Fade to Black--Alex Flinn

Alex Crusan is an HIV+ student driving to Dunkin' Donuts one morning when his windshield is hit with a baseball bat, breaking the window and causing flying glass to cut him. Crawling on the floor of his car he manages to hit the gas and drive away from the assailant.

Clinton Cole is an intolerant student who wants nothing more than to see Alex Crusan leave his school. He is intolerant because he is afraid. He's scared that he or his family will get HIV just by breathing the same air as Crusan. He's so scared he's willing to do whatever it takes to send Crusan a message.

Daria Bickell claims she sees Cole smash Crusan's window. But did the Down Syndrome girl really see what she says she saw?

Told in these three alternating viewpoints, Fade to Black is an excellent example of how people's perceptions of the truth are different. On the surface Clinton Cole is an intolerant bigot. But is he really capable of violence? He's just a scared kid who's misguided and needs some help. Daria Bickell just wants to help, to be a hero, but how far is she willing to go to do that?

I liked the story. Once again Alex Flinn has written an engaging interesting book. It's good for everyone--boys, girls, high schoolers, middle schoolers.

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Reading: I'll get to it.
On My Nightstand: Way too many.