Sharon Salluzzo (Children's Literature)
Matt Cruse longed to be a sailmaker on an airship, just as his father had been and so he is disappointed to learn that the son of the airship’s owner is to be the new sailmaker. Matt has worked on board for three years as a cabin boy but could never have imagined the encounters and dangers that will be faced on the current flight where he meets the lovely and talented Kate de Vries. The action begins immediately with the discovery of a wayward hot air balloon and the last words of the dying passenger. The story picks up a year later and continues at a fast pace throughout the book. Matt and Kate are compelling characters, and readers will cheer their triumphs and feel their angst as they battle pirates, try to save the damaged airship Aurora and attempt to locate the beautiful winged creatures that most people believe do not exist. 2004, EOS/HarperCollins, $16.99. Ages 9 to 14.

CCBC (Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices, 2005)
There is something comforting about the familiar feel of this novel, yet its wholly original elements make it fresh and engaging. Canadian author Kenneth Oppel has created a conventional Victorian-era adventure story infused with fantastic elements that defy scientific laws. The characters are somewhat predictable: Matt, who discovers danger and intrigue at every turn; his female sidekick, Kate, whose intelligence and natural curiosity belie her frilly appearance (their romance, of course, is inevitable); a wise old ship’s captain; and pirates who pillage and kill. But these characters interact against a backdrop that defies any known time or place. The bulk of the novel takes place on an airship. Great technical details explain how the ship works and reveal Matt’s passion for a career on board. There is a mystery that centers around a mystical species of animal called a Ghost Cat, a giant flying mammalian beast. If Kate can prove it exists, her grandfather’s death might not have been in vain. The writing is flawless, and the quick cycles of tension and resolution are satisfying in a story that leaves itself wide open for what would be a welcome sequel. CCBC categories: Fiction for Children. 2004, Eos / HarperCollins, 355 pages, $16.99 and $17.89. Ages 11-14.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 2004 (Vol. 72, No. 10))
Entrancing, exciting adventure with airships, pirates, and mysterious flying mammals takes place on an earth with the same geography as ours but different technology. Fifteen-year-old Matt works as cabin boy on the Aurora, a two-million-pound airship kept aloft by gas cells filled with hydrium, the lightest gas in the world. Matt loves the skies; aground, he feels stifled and claustrophobically disconnected from his late father, who was also an Aurora worker. Kate, a rich passenger Matt's age, boards the Aurora in search of furry, flying sky mammals mentioned in her late grandfather's journal but unknown to anyone else. A pirate attack forces an emergency landing on an uncharted island in the Pacificus ocean. Matt's intricate knowledge of his ship and Kate's cheerfully stubborn determination bring them, scrabbling hard, to victory over the brutal pirates and discovery of the wondrous cloud cats. Full of a sense of air, flying details, and action. (airship diagram) 2004, Eos/HarperCollins, 368p, $16.99. Category: Fantasy. Ages 10 to 14. © 2004 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Paula Rohrlick (KLIATT Review, May 2004 (Vol. 38, No. 3))
Oppel, the author of the Silverwing series about bats, turns his attention here to other things that fly: blimp-like airships that travel the skyways, as well as mysterious winged mammals dubbed "cloud cats." Our protagonist and narrator is brave young Matt, a cabin boy on the airship Aurora. When a hot-air balloon threatens to collide with the Aurora, agile Matt is able to swing over and avert catastrophe. The gravely ill balloonist mutters about seeing strange flying creatures, and at first Matt thinks he's raving. Then, a year later, the balloonist's granddaughter, Kate, arrives on the Aurora as a passenger, eager to further investigate the existence of these animals. When the airship is boarded by pirates and then crash-lands on an uncharted desert island near where Kate's grandfather had spotted the creatures, the two young people explore their surroundings and encounter a beautiful but dangerous specimen. This fantasy is set in an unspecified era, perhaps 100 years ago, when girls were expected to act ladylike--of course Kate is uninterested in becoming a lady, and instead eager to become a scientist. She is as brave as Matt, and the two have adventure after adventure in this exciting tale, which will appeal to upper elementary, middle school, and junior high students. Category: Hardcover Fiction. KLIATT Codes: J*--Exceptional book, recommended for junior high school students. 2004, HarperCollins, 368p., $16.99 and $17.89. Ages 12 to 15.

Charlotte Decker (Library Media Connection, February 2005)
Matt is a cabin boy upon the airship Aurora. He wants to be a sailmaker like his late father. Passenger Kate enlists Matt's help to find a winged albino creature that looks like a cross between a panther and a bat. Matt attends the Air Academy and the scientific community recognizes Kate for her discovery. Kate is courageous, determined, and composed in dangerous situations. We are sympathetic to Matt who truly loves the Aurora, and we understand his frustrations at being passed over for promotion, as well as dealing with Kate. Pirates attack the Aurora, but before the brigands scuttle the ship, a storm blows both vessels off course. The Aurora finds an island to land on. Convinced the island matches the description of the place where the creatures live, Kate and Matt explore and find a complete skeleton, which they dismantle and keep. They discover that the island is also home to the pirates who have taken over the Aurora. Kate and Matt thwart their plans in a daring game of cat and mouse. While it may be a little too convenient a plot device to have the pirate hideout on the very island where the Aurora is marooned, the story moves logically from one crisis to another. This book has all the elements necessary for a grand adventure tale. Highly Recommended. 2004, HarperCollins, 355pp., $16.99 hc. Ages 12 to 16.

Timnah Card (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, July 2004 (Vol. 57, No. 11))
In an adventure novel set in an alternate early twentieth-century world reminiscent of those created by Jules Verne and Edgar Rice Burroughs, cabin-boy Matt Cruse earns a living on the zeppelin Aurora, a world-class luxury liner. One year ago on this ship, Matt swung from a crane mid-flight to rescue a dying man from a sinking air balloon. On this voyage, the dead man's granddaughter, Miss Kate de Vries, has booked passage in order to discover if the outsized, winged cats described in her grandfather's airship logs are more than the delusions of a man on the brink of death by dehydration. Through pirate attack, shipwreck on an uncharted island, and imprisonment, Matt and Kate collaborate in an often uneasy partnership to find proof of the cloud cats' existence. From start to finish, the pacing is brisk, the physical details are specific and persuasive, the characterization is consistent yet dynamic, and the interweaving of the plot threads is meticulous but discreet. The tension created by danger at diverse levels gradually increases reader interest already piqued by the possible discovery of an awe-inspiring new species. The deaths of certain zeppelin crew members heighten that interest, as does the romantic tension between working-class Matt and upper-class Kate. On a deeper plane, Matt's narrative explores the uncertainties and obstacles inherent in the struggle to know one's place in the world. A thoroughly satisfying tale, this novel takes a standard premise from the early days of novelistic adventuring and reinvents it as a new literary achievement. (Reviewed from galleys) Review Code: R* -- Denotes books of special distinction. (c) Copyright 2004, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2004, EOS/HarperCollins, 368p, $17.89 and $16.99. Grades 7-12.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2004)
Matt Cruse, a cabin boy on the airship Aurora, helps rescue hot air balloonist Benjamin Molloy. Later, Molloy’s granddaughter Kate travels on the Aurora hoping to learn more about the strange winged mammals the balloonist wrote about in his journal. Set in an alternate Edwardian-styled past and featuring an enthusiastic narrator, this is a fast-paced fantasy-adventure. Category: Older Fiction. 2004, HarperCollins/Eos, 355pp, $16.99, $17.89. Ages 12 to 14. Rating: 2: Superior, well above average.

Rollie Welch (VOYA, June 2004 (Vol. 27, No. 2))
Frustrated by his lowly cabin-boy status, Matt Cruse is bent on advancing in rank while serving on the mammoth airship Aurora. When a damaged balloon piloted by a weakened elderly man draws near the dirigible, Matt's diminutive size is an asset. The intrepid teen volunteers to leap the narrow gap between the aircraft and rescue the balloonist. Saved but dying, the pilot demands to know if Matt saw the "flying beasts." Flashing ahead one year, the Aurora embarks on a voyage transporting passengers from Lionsgate City to Sydney, Australia. A late-arriving teen, Kate de Vries, charms Matt, launching a platonic courtship. Isolated in the vast atmosphere above the ocean, the Aurora is plundered by pirates, its gasbags slashed by the rogue vessel's propellers, and the airship crashes onto a desert island, the buccaneer hideout. Exploring the jungle, Kate and Matt encounter elusive Cloud Cats, the mysterious flying beasts described by the dying balloonist. Captured and imprisoned by the pirate gang, the duo escapes only to stumble onto an underground deposit of hydrium necessary to raise the ship, but first they must thwart the robber's plans to murder Aurora's crew. Kate and Matt are given equal roles in this adventure laced with a touch of fantasy reminiscent of Treasure Island and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Committing several murders, the pirates are typically unsavory but are not stock cartoon characters. This title, packed with suspense, fantasy, and thrills, is a solid selection geared to middle school boys. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2004, HarperCollins, 368p., $16.99 and PLB $17.89. Ages 11 to 18.