A Teen Tome - Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold

The book I’m reviewing today is for an age group I don’t normally address on my blog.  However, I enjoyed it so much, I couldn’t not tell you about it. Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold is the first of 5 books in the Kitty Hawk series by Canadian author, Iain Reading. Despite a few curse words sprinkled occasionally through the book, it is a riveting read that’s hard to put down.

 

 

The main character, Kitty, has just graduated from high school, has been a pilot for several years, and is flying alone to Alaska to study humpback whale feeding habits in Alaska for seven weeks of her summer.  That’s pretty amazing so far, but it’s nothing compared to the adventure that awaits. She flies her pontooned De Haviland Beaver from her home in Tofino, Canada, to her base in Juneau, Alaska.  In daily flights along the waterways of southeast Alaska she observes, photographs, and documents the whales’ activities. This is where you begin to see the tremendous amount of background research the author had to have done to write this book.  He weaves the information and history skillfully through the fabric of the whole story so that it doesn’t at all feel didactic.  From flying the Beaver to grizzly bear behavior to the Yukon Gold Rush, the story keeps you turning those pages!

 

 

Another of the appealing factors of this book is the strong female protagonist.  She is smart, physically tough, and able to overcome her fears to do things she didn’t think she could.  These characteristics are clearly evident when her curiosity causes her to be captured by a band of brother and forced to trek up treacherous Chilkoot Pass carrying their stolen gold. 

 

 Just when they almost reach their destination and she’ll be free from them, a crazy, gun-wielding man shows up with the guys’ half-brother and steals the gold from them.  There were so many switchbacks in the action of the story, I almost had whiplash or maybe a heart attack!  If you have a teen who loves adventure stories, get this book in their hands.

 

I love the author's section near the end of the book where he gives more tidbits of information about the true details about the people (including authors), places, events and things he mentions in the story.

 

 

** Follow my blog and leave a comment and you'll be in the drawing for a copy of this  engrossing book.**