Author: Iain Reading
Series: Kitty Hawk Flying Detective #1
Publisher: CreateSpace
Release Date: December 3, 2012
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewer: Jessica Higgins
A high-flying adventure that is full of twists and turns with an overall good message to boot.
Kitty Hawk is about to set out on her first big adventure flying her plane to Alaska to study and document the habits of whales before she starts college. She has been flying for as long as she can remember and feels certain she is ready for this big adventure. Kitty soon finds herself in the middle of an even bigger adventure, chasing gold thieves and getting caught up in an epic chase with roots deep into the gold rush of long ago. Before all is said and done, Kitty will have had the adventure of a lifetime, made friends with people she never would have imagined, and learned so much about herself.
Kitty Hawk was a great adventure read for young adult readers, which is the target audience. I only have one issue with that, there were a few instances of harsh language, especially one use of GD, which I have a very hard time seeing in a book intended for young readers. That and the print being very small makes it a little harder for reluctant readers to want to pick up and stick with the book are my only negatives.
Kitty is a very adventurous girl that I think can be a very good role model for young girls. Even though she is just out of high school, there are times that she seems a bit younger, maybe middle school age. I really liked the way things didn’t turn out how you would have expected. I don’t want to give much away, but I will say I enjoyed the relationship between Kitty and Charlie and his brothers. There were a few points where I wasn’t sure if things should have played out the way they did, but it was all quickly cleared up, just make sure to not give up and keep reading. There is enough mystery to keep the readers guessing and a nice history lesson about the area dealing with the gold rush. I really enjoyed the way the characters were so knowledgeable about their different areas, Kitty and flying, Charlie and so many other areas. Overall I really enjoyed this book, (minus the few harsh words), and will recommend it to mature young readers.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.
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