Airborn

Imagine a past in which airplanes have never been invented and giant airships rule the skies. Matt Cruse is the cabin boy of the Aurora, a 900-foot luxury airship that ferries wealthy passengers around the globe. On a crossing of the Pacificus, he helps rescue a dying balloonist who tells him of beautiful creatures in the clouds. It is only after Matt meets Kate de Vries, the balloonist's granddaughter, that he realizes the man's ravings may have been true. But when pirates board and scuttle the Aurora, Matt and Kate's search for the truth takes a frightening new turn. Winner of the Governor General's Award for Children's Literature and many other national and international honours, Kenneth Oppel's tale of airships and adventure is an instant classic of richly imagined fantasy, a novel for readers of all ages.