Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold

I received this book from the author for the purpose of this review. All comments and opinions are entirely my own.

As the synopsis says, Kitty Hawk is a great combination of Pipi Longstocking, Nancy Drew, and Amelia Earhart. Her character is adventurous, fun, and most girls that find themselves reading her stories will certainly enjoy themselves!

As I read this particular novel, I felt like it targeted an audience between the ages 10 to 13 or 14 even though the main character is much older (19 I believe), just because of how it is written and the way the storyline unfolds. Though I certainly enjoyed the story and know some much older teens and young adults who would also enjoy a clean adventure novel, so it depends entirely on the reader.

I really liked all of the history, geography, marine science and classic literature that was included! Because this novel takes place in the Yukon, where Jack London gathered his inspiration for his masterpieces, I was thrilled to be introduced to some history about one of my favorite authors as well as many other poets and writers.

There are some “high-school” references, such as “Toby broke my heart in the 9th grade” and different conversations that some parents may want to steer their tweens away from, but this is definitely a clean book overall. My only complaint is that God's name was used in vain many many times throughout the entire book.

I give Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold 5 out of 5 stars and most definitely recommend it as some good reading material for the upcoming school year (home-schoolers' wink wink)!

This review was originally published on Literature Approved (http://literatureapproved.wordpress.com).

I had a hard time rating this one. On the one had I felt like the writing could have used some polishing, the short chapters really broke up the flow of the story, the main characters inner monologue worked sometimes, but I felt it was overdone at other times, and as others have mentioned, Kitty's voice seems a bit young for her age. Having said that, I really, really, really enjoyed a young main character that was upbeat, happy, adventurous without the need for some sappy love interest (or two) to drive her forward. She was fun and inspiring and I wish there were more like her in YA fiction. I also really enjoyed the history and the whole premise of the story as a whole. It certainly made me even more interested in visiting Alaska and the Yukon and the mystery and intrigue that surrounds the stolen gold was a fun reveal and unexpected.
So overall I felt like I did enjoy it, despite my quibbles about the writing and that's why I felt in deserved 4 stars instead of 3. I also looked forward to the next book, which is a good sign. I'm actually excited to follow Kitty on another adventure.
I truly wish there was more YA like this...it was refreshing to have an upbeat story that encourages young women to get out and travel, learn history and be independent without the need for a romantic interludes and a guy at the centre of it all. Thank you for that Iain Reading!