Boy Proof

by Cecil Castellucci

Victoria--or, rather, Egg--is smart. She knows what she's doing both in school and out. Her mom is a famous Hollywood actor and her dad is one of the best costume, makeup, and mask artists in the film business. Egg (who calls herself after her favourite character from her favourite science fiction film) is cool, detached, wants and needs no friends, and wants most in the world to meet Saba Greer, the actress behind the amazing Egg. Victoria/Egg has even altered her appearance to look like Egg the character: shaved head, coloured-in eyebrows, pale face (no makeup), and a full-length cloak. All is well in Egg's world... until Max Carter enters the scene.

Max's dad is a famous PBS documentary filmmaker. Max himself has, therefore, traveled the world with his parents, learning much about history as his dad does his research. Max is able to give Egg a run for her money in history, trigonometry, and basically any other thing that Egg is the best at. Of course, this makes Egg furious and gives her reason to hate him eternally. However... maybe Max has cracked the Eggshell? She finds herself caring more about people, becoming less obsessed with Terminal Earth (Egg's movie) and more interested in the world around her. On top of everything, she's failing trig. Great.

As I read Boy Proof, I was fascinated with the character of Victoria and how she was so detached from the world. It seemed amazing to me that someone could be so obsessed and fanatical but yet a separate entity from reality. Watching her Eggshell crack and seeing her character open up is quite an experience, and I recommend this book to anyone that appreciates a good obsession... or even just a good read.

Skybreaker

by Kenneth Oppel

Matt Cruse has returned, but now he's not working, officially: he's learning. Matt is enrolled at The Academy, where many wannabe pilots and airship officers train before they are given a ship. Matt doesn't think too highly of all the theory that is taught there, but he continues to work hard, his tuition paid through by Miss Kate de Vries. While on board a crummy old airship with a rash, impulsive captain (it's part of his internship for the Academy), they come across an old airship, too high up to make out its name. The captain immediately bets that it's the Hyperion, a sort of sunken treasure in airship lore, and wants to go after it. The ship is cruising at an extremely high altitude, buffeted this way and that by the winds. It's too high above the oxygen layer for crew members to be able to breathe comfortably, and much too cold for human life to survive, but the captain of the ship pulls rank and says to go after it. The Flotsam, for that is the name of the ship that Matt is on currently, does what is called a "homesick angel": a steep climb that moves quickly and covers a lot of altitude in a short amount of time. Of course, this turns out to be a very, very, very bad idea, and the crew gets airsick very quickly. Matt seized his chance (he was younger and in better health than the rest of the crew, and so had more of a resistance to altitude sickness) and took the Flotsam down, crash-landing it at a port. Now the Flotsam had no cargo (they jettisoned it all to go after the Hyperion), one of its engines crumpled because of the pressure change, and at least one of the hydrium tanks were ruptured. Matt is lectured by his professor but knew he did the right thing.

Later, Matt tells Kate de Vries about the discovery, and discloses to her a secret: he remembers the coordinates of the Hyperion. She immediately sets out on a mission to find someone who can take them to find it. Along the way, Matt meets a gypsy girl who has the key to the Hyperion's treasure trove. Matt, Kate, and Nadira set off on the quest with Hal Slater, the owner and pilot of a new type of ship called a skybreaker, whose engines are pressurized so they won't explode at high altitudes. A slow descent and a clever navigator set them on the right course, and soon they find the Hyperion. However, pirates have been tracking them and everyone meets up aboard the Hyperion in a climactic battle for the treasure.

All ends well, but if I write much more, I'll ruin the story. Skybreaker is a very good read, providing more in-depth characterization of Matt and Kate and adding a whole new dimension to their world in the sky. I recommend reading both Airborn and Skybreaker to anyone who has even the remotest interest in aeronautics.

Airborn

by Kenneth Oppel

Matt Cruse works aboard the beautiful skyship Aurora. It is a luxury passenger liner, with a captain who guides his crew well and a crew who knows their jobs. Matt is the cabin boy, and excels at what he does. His father worked on the Aurora before he died, so Matt carries on his father's work. One day while transporting passengers and cargo, the ship comes across a balloon in distress. There seems to be no pilot, but they hook onto the unnamed hot-air balloon and attempt to salvage it. Matt, who is the smallest and lightest of the crew, gets assigned the task of checking for passengers and cutting the balloon loose from the basket. The pilot, an elderly man who is gravely ill, is successfully rescued, but dies shortly after being brought on board ship. Matt is hailed as a hero and taken into consideration for a promotion.

Three years later...

Rumour has it that the job of assistant sailmaker is going to be open soon. Matt is ready to leap at the opportunity, but the captain has the last word. Then the son of the owner of the Aurora takes the job instead of Matt, much to the captain's regrets.

Enter Kate de Vries and her chaperone Marjorie Simpkins. Kate is on a scientific exploration, looking to see what her grandfather saw. Her grandfather was the man rescued by the Aurora three years back, and apparently he discovered an entirely new species. When the Aurora is knocked off-course by pirates and a storm, Kate and Matt find cloud cats, the new species, on an uncharted island. But the island is home to Viktor Spirzglas, one of the most formidable air pirates of the time, and Kate and Matt end up caught.

I really liked this book because it held my interest quite well. Ships that fly are utterly fascinating to me, and I'd like to hopefully live long enough to see a giant zeppelin that can carry hundreds of passengers. I recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure stories, complete with pirates and battles and the like. The characters are very well-built-up and the storyline is so well-written that you never know what will happen next.

Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen

by Tamora Pierce

Aly is the daughter of Tortall's spymaster and King's Champion. She has picked up everything she'd ever need in the spying field--lockpicking, lipreading, the ability to put things back into a room exactly where they were... yet her father, the spymaster, will not let her go into the field. It's too risky, he claims, so Aly takes matters into her own hands. She decides to go on her own little adventure, but gets captured by slavers. By some twist of fate, Kyprioth, the trickster god, takes her under his wing and assigns her a task: to keep a particular family of nobles alive for the summer. Not too hard, right? It just so happens that this particular family has somehow gotten on the bad side of the current reigning king, who (as everybody knows) isn't exactly right in the head.

Once the summer is up and Aly can return to her family, she is too attached to the place to leave and carries on with her task. She has a group of crows that serve as messengers, and a secret network of spies that are spread all over.

Everything ends happily, but I shan't ruin it for you readers by telling you what happens... just go read it yourself.

I really enjoyed these two books. They were good reads, well worth the time I put into them (though the measure of time itself isn't very large). I highly recommend them to anyone else who likes Tamora Pierce.

In dire need of suggestions

Hey everybody, if you still keep up with my blog! As you may have noticed, I haven't been all too active lately. That's simply because I've been reading so many books that I can't keep track of all of them! I'll post a review on some more Tammy Pierce books, since I can actually remember the title and author.

However, I'm working my way through the school library at a pace that astonishes even myself. If you've got any recommendations, please, speak up now! I'm listening...er, rather, reading. I'll review your suggestions right here as soon as I've gotten my hands on them, so go ahead and start suggesting, please!