Book Review: Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold By Iain Reading

KITTY HAWK AND THE CURSE OF THE YUKON GOLD
Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency #1

By: Iain Reading

Published: December 3, 2012

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Fiction/YA/Mystery

If you have an independent, spunky tween that is looking for a new series to read, this Kitty Hawk series might just be for them. Kitty Hawk is an adventurous young adult who knows how to fly and decides to spend her summer in Alaska researching humpback whales. She is Canadian and after getting sponsorship from her favorite clothing company and a place to stay with friends, she is off on her adventure.

Kitty Hawk is not the average teenager. She has been flying planes with her father for quite awhile, she has an idea and runs with it, and is completely independent. Kitty Hawk has quite the summer in Juneau, Alaska meeting new people, having a little summer romance, and solving a mystery. The reader can learn while journeying with Kitty Hawk as the locations she mentions and real places and the historical stories are fact-based. History buffs and mystery lovers will enjoy this series.

At times, I did feel like the details were a bit heavy and slowed down the reading process, but maybe that is because I am an adult and this is meant for younger readers. Even though Kitty Hawk is an adult, I felt conflicted at times feeling like she was childish in some of her conversations (especially with herself) and other times remembering she is an adult on this adventure. I think the author’s motives for getting kids excited about adventures and being independent are worthy and I could see kids wanting to look up the places that are talked about in the book (I did), but I did get a little bored with the story at times.

Kitty Hawk’s curiosity gets her in a bit of danger and the suspense will keep readers interested. There are also a few surprises along the way that will keep the reader guessing about what will come next and how everything will turn out in the end. The end of the book offers specific ideas for what the reader might want to look up and learn more about.

Overall, I think this is a great series for tweens, teens, and even adults who like adventures based on historical facts and places. There are currently four other books in the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series:  Kitty Hawk and the Hunt for Hemingway’s Ghost, Kitty Hawk and the Icelandic Intrigue, and Kitty Hawk and the Tragedy of the RMS Titanic, and Kitty Hawk and the Mystery of the Masterpieces. Each book can be read as a standalone. For more information, check out the Kitty Hawk website, HERE.

Iain Reading – source