Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

Goodreads synopsis: Matt Cruse is a cabin boy on the Aurora, a huge airship that sails hundreds of feet above the ocean, ferrying wealthy passengers from city to city. It is the life Matt's always wanted; convinced he's lighter than air, he imagines himself as buoyant as the hydrium gas that powers his ship. One night he meets a dying balloonist who speaks of beautiful creatures drifting through the skies. It is only after Matt meets the balloonist's granddaughter that he realizes that the man's ravings may, in fact, have been true, and that the creatures are completely real and utterly mysterious.

In a swashbuckling adventure reminiscent of Jules Verne and Robert Louis Stevenson, Kenneth Oppel, author of the best-selling Silverwing trilogy, creates an imagined world in which the air is populated by transcontinental voyagers, pirates, and beings never before dreamed of by the humans who sail the skies.

My rating: 4 stars.

Content warnings: PG. Some mild language, a use of "feck" which looks like it should be something different, brief chaste kiss, bloodless shooting, mention of someone being mauled, characters thrown from an airship, characters are drugged, two child characters are given alcohol.

(spoilers below)

Thoughts: I really didn't expect to like this book. The synopsis that came on my copy didn't sound too interesting, and the cover didn't do much for me. But I got it as a gift so I figured I should give it a try.

It was actually really fun. It's the first steampunk I've read that I can think of, so it could have been hard to get into. But the worldbuilding was fantastic and kept me really invested in the story. If for nothing else, the world the story is set in is beautiful and I really loved it.

The plot itself isn't anything super interesting, and most of the characters seemed a little trope-y to me. But there was enough interest to keep me invested and still enjoying the story.

My biggest complaint was the "romance" between Matt and Kate. I'm pretty sure the book said he was 15, and Kate acted way younger most of the time. Neither of them are old enough for me to really care about their feelings beyond a cute friendship for now. But on that note I was happy with how the book left that thread for now.

If I stumble into the next book I'll probably take a look at it. Don't think I'll go out of my way to hunt for it, but if I see it I'll pick it up.