As an avid Nancy Drew reader growing up, I couldn't help but snatch up a copy of this series and I was not disappointed. Kitty Hawk is a fun, adventuresome teenager with a specific set of skills (flying) and a curiosity that sometimes gets the best of her.

 

Kitty's character was interesting and heart felt. The inner dialogue that is included in the story was a little frustrating at first but by the end of the book it was a nice picture into her current mood. After all, who doesn't argue with themselves when they get into a tight spot?

 

What I enjoyed most about this story was the in depth details of the history of the Klondike Gold Rush and how Kitty was learning about the history of the area as she was going through her adventures. The landscape, the tools, the trials and tribulations of the people who came for the gold rush were so well written you felt like you were there for it. Education and adventure? A great combination in this story.

 

If you enjoy a good mystery/adventure then I recommend this series. There are twists and turns that keep the story moving and you won't want to put it down!

Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold by Iain Reading is the first book in new middle grade adventure series about a gutsy and independent young pilot. The adventure in this book comes from gold, thieves, a kidnapping, and an old curse rooted in Alaskan history. My favorite aspects of the book are the historical and natural descriptions of Alaska and the gold rush.

 

Read my complete review at Memories From Books - Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold.

 

Reviewed based on a copy received for review.

 

Read this review and others on October Tune!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This has not changed my opinion on this book in any way!

When I first read the summary for this book, I kind of thought it would be a children's book (probably also because of the cover), so I was a bit reluctant to read it. Sure I've read many children's books in the past but I had realised that they weren't really what I wanted to read anymore. But I did end up saying yes and when I started reading the book I realised it wasn't a children's story at all. I actually quite enjoyed it!

This book tells the story of Kitty Hawk, a young girl who's just graduated from high school and wants to go to Alaska to study humpback whales. We follow her as she flies her own plane to Alaska and studies these animals for the whole summer. But then, she gets involved in something dangerous that could cost her her life.

I have to say, at some points there is some story telling, and though I like story telling in books, it felt a bit like an info-dump to me. Sure, the story needed to be told, but not everything all in one go. So yeah, I did like hearing the history of the Gold Rush and learn about whales but at some points I just got so bored with those stories that I wanted to skip ahead to the end of them.

There were also some minor things that didn't really make sense to me; like at one point, when Kitty had landed safely in Juneau, her friend's aunt says 'you made it', to which Kitty replies 'me either'?! (Okay maybe just a little mistake, but I just found it a really odd answer to what was said). And later on, when Kitty's in trouble, she just decides to help out these guys rather than try to get away from them. Sure they turned out to be kind of innocent in the end, but still, you don't just help your kidnappers like that. But besides that, I really liked the story. It was very well written, and lots of things were described beautifully, it kind of made me want to visit Alaska/Canada.

As for the characters, I liked Kitty. She's adventurous and very preceptive, but at some points I just didn't really understand her actions (like what I said underneath the spoiler tag). There was also a guy named Edward (whose name was revealed after Kitty stated thinking about Bella and Edward from Twilight, ha ha ha). I kind of thought he was nice, but I remembered thinking he was going to be quite important somewhere in the story. And I turned out to be right, so yay for intuition! Then there were the 'bad guys', whose names you'll find out when you read the book, and honestly I didn't really think they were that good in what they were doing. From what I understood, they planned on living out in the woods for months eating only energy bars. Don't think that's going to keep you alive, guys!

In the end, I really liked Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold, and I'll certainly check out the rest of the series. I do hope there's a lot less info-dump story telling going on in the other books, and I hope that the next bad guys she bumps into are a bit smarter than these ones. Then again, these bad guys weren't really bad guys after all.

My opinion on this book in one gif:

Author: Iain Reading

Published: February 2014 by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Category: Adventure, Young Adult

 

Kitty Hawk and the Tragedy of the RMS Titanic is the thrillingly cryptic fourth installment of the exciting Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series featuring the intrepid teenage seaplane pilot Kitty Hawk and her various adventures of mystery and intrigue as she follows in the footsteps of Amelia Earhart on an epic flight around the world……..Filled with fascinating and highly Google-able locations and history the reader will find themselves immersed in brand new worlds that are brought to life before their very eyes as Kitty Hawk experiences the stories and history of a doomed ocean liner and unravels the Tragedy of the RMS Titanic. 

 

This is definitely my favourite Kitty Hawk adventure up to date, although I’ve enjoyed all Kitty’s adventures and the places she has visited so far on her round the world flight. This story begins in Dublin where Kitty is helping to promote the opening the new branch of Wasabi Willy’s, the company that, thanks to Kitty’s friend Charlie, is funding her trip.

 

Kitty is soon involved in a race to help her new friend Andrew, whose great-uncle was First Officer William McMaster Murdoch aboard the Titanic, unravel the mystery that has been baffling his family for generations. Travelling from Ireland to London and back again they hope to solve confusing clues and a puzzling code that Andrew’s family received in the 1930s in the form of a newspaper clipping and a postcard. Andrew is desperate to clear his Great Uncle’s name which was dishonoured in the accounts following the tragedy.

 

The account of the sinking of the Titanic, even though events have been well documented, is written in such a way as to bring renewed feelings of poignancy. There’s a huge amount of information woven into the story and highlights just how many circumstances seem to have conspired against the ship that momentous night. The weather conditions, the sea state and extremely dark night and especially the seeming ineptitude of the captain of the Californian. The story of the Titanic will always be fascinating and catastrophic.

 

For a moment, the lights of the ship blazed brightly before flickering into darkness. A terrible roar arose from deep inside the Titanic as the entire contents of the enormous ship broke free-everything from gigantic boilers to tiny teaspoons. High in the air the ship’s stern seemed to hang motionless for an eternity before finally plummeting down into the icy black abyss.

 

The evocative descriptions of London and Ireland are rich and distinct giving a complete sense of place and local colour. Initially, I wasn’t too sure about the graphic accounts of Jack the Ripper’s victims being suitable for the target age range, but I did find myself engrossed even though it’s very gruesome and chilling. As with all the stories in this series, the wonderful accounts of the different countries and areas make me desperately want to visit. Newgrange and Brú na Bóinne is an intriguing sounding place and amazing to think was constructed around 3200 BC!

 

Kitty’s character is developing nicely and her adventures continue to be exciting and very entertaining for readers of any age. 

Author: Iain Reading
Published: April 2013 by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Category: Young Adult, Adventure

 

Following in the footsteps of her hero Amelia Earhart, Kitty Hawk sets off on an epic flight around the world and arrives in Iceland’s capital city of Reykjavik where she finds herself immersed in a beautiful alien world of volcanoes, Vikings, elves and trolls. Before she knows it Kitty is plunged head first into an amazing adventure that sweeps her across a rugged landscape where humans and nature exist in side-by-side in an uneasy truce and magical realms seem to lie just out of sight beneath the surface.

 

I received a free copy from Book Publicity Services in return for an honest review.

 

Kitty’s third stop on her round the world flight takes her to Iceland via short stopovers in a little town called Kitty Hawk (yes, really!) in North Carolina and Halifax, Nova Scotia with its very sad link to the Titanic. 

 

This girl is an adventure magnet and, being avidly curious and a keen amateur sleuth, finds herself caught up in an escalating and dangerous situation involving sabotaging environmentalists, corrupt officials and Russian criminals. Not to mention an erupting volcano and escaping a raging torrent.

 

As I passed over the Eastern coastline of Greenland, I was dazzled by the millions of white-blue icebergs littering the inlets and waters below me. In the bright sun, they sparkled like tiny diamonds and sapphires floating on the water. It was such an astonishingly beautiful sight that I couldn’t resist taking my trusty De Havilland Beaver down to a lower altitude for a closer look.

 

As with all of Kitty’s travels the description and sense of place is incredibly evocative. Iceland is an intriguing destination with it’s amazing surroundings and atmosphere. What I like so much about this series is that the actual places figure as much in the story as the characters. Especially with the wealth of knowledge that’s incorporated into the story, in a good way, as part of the whole. Who knew Iceland had a naming committee? Or that said (very long) names, and pronunciations in general, were so complicated and unlike anything you could imagine. Iceland is full of legend too, about elves, trolls and hidden people. Fascinating! I wasn’t so crazy about the Puffin hunting and the local delicacy of rotted shark meat though…ew.

 

Incorporating the Icelandic culture, environmental issues and history and weaving it into the story is extremely absorbing and entertaining. It’s a fun way to interest younger (and older) readers in the history of places in an anecdotal and less formal way.