The first book of a Young Adult series that promises adventure, mystery, and high-flying fun, starring a headstrong and intelligent leading lady that more than earns her wings for her skill, quick thinking, and puzzling abilities.

What starts out on a nature expedition to record migration routes and habits of humpback whales in and around Alaska turns into a kidnapping by potential thugs on a treasure quest. She develops what seems to be a case of Stockholm syndrome to the extreme and things get all topsy turvy as we risk life and limb to escape the threat to our very existence. Good thing we have a smashing leading lady in one, Kitty Hawk!

She's got smarts, spunk, wit, talent, curiosity, and a knack for both getting in trouble as well as out of it. Though worried tremendously for her safety once in the clutches of the kidnappers, I never once doubted she'd figure something out. Now, I was COMPLETELY surprised when things were turned on their ear, making you rethink the impressions you cemented about certain people, things, and situations. She's a braver and more forgiving soul than I because frankly, you kidnap me...you're toast.

In the end, we're treated to a story filled with high flying adventure, a bit of history, a dash of geography, and a whole lotta fun. Its appeal is wide ranging, both in age and gender, with its multi-layered plot, and the subject matters covered work together to keep it from being pigeon holed in any way. I will say that my recommendation is for adventure seekers in their teens and beyond though, as the writing style and topics covered may have younger reader's minds straying.


***copy received for review ( )

I loved this wondrous adventure story that I won some time ago, about a young girl flying the Alaskan skies, where she makes the most unlikely friends and learns that life is not black and white, and things are not always what they seem.

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I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This has not changed my opinion on this book in any way!

When I first read the summary for this book, I kind of thought it would be a children's book (probably also because of the cover), so I was a bit reluctant to read it. Sure I've read many children's books in the past but I had realised that they weren't really what I wanted to read anymore. But I did end up saying yes and when I started reading the book I realised it wasn't a children's story at all. I actually quite enjoyed it!

This book tells the story of Kitty Hawk, a young girl who's just graduated from high school and wants to go to Alaska to study humpback whales. We follow her as she flies her own plane to Alaska and studies these animals for the whole summer. But then, she gets involved in something dangerous that could cost her her life.

I have to say, at some points there is some story telling, and though I like story telling in books, it felt a bit like an info-dump to me. Sure, the story needed to be told, but not everything all in one go. So yeah, I did like hearing the history of the Gold Rush and learn about whales but at some points I just got so bored with those stories that I wanted to skip ahead to the end of them.

There were also some minor things that didn't really make sense to me; like at one point, when Kitty had landed safely in Juneau, her friend's aunt says 'you made it', to which Kitty replies 'me either'?! (Okay maybe just a little mistake, but I just found it a really odd answer to what was said). And later on, when Kitty's in trouble, she just decides to help out these guys rather than try to get away from them. Sure they turned out to be kind of innocent in the end, but still, you don't just help your kidnappers like that. But besides that, I really liked the story. It was very well written, and lots of things were described beautifully, it kind of made me want to visit Alaska/Canada.

As for the characters, I liked Kitty. She's adventurous and very preceptive, but at some points I just didn't really understand her actions (like what I said underneath the spoiler tag). There was also a guy named Edward (whose name was revealed after Kitty stated thinking about Bella and Edward from Twilight, ha ha ha). I kind of thought he was nice, but I remembered thinking he was going to be quite important somewhere in the story. And I turned out to be right, so yay for intuition! Then there were the 'bad guys', whose names you'll find out when you read the book, and honestly I didn't really think they were that good in what they were doing. From what I understood, they planned on living out in the woods for months eating only energy bars. Don't think that's going to keep you alive, guys!

In the end, I really liked Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold, and I'll certainly check out the rest of the series. I do hope there's a lot less info-dump story telling going on in the other books, and I hope that the next bad guys she bumps into are a bit smarter than these ones. Then again, these bad guys weren't really bad guys after all.

My opinion on this book in one gif:
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Finally a young adult book for girls interested in marine life, geography, history and real life adventures. Not a ghost, angel or vampire in sight. Quite refreshing!

Kitty Hawk is a 19 year old adventurer. She has her pilots licence and wants to study the feeding habits and migration patterns of whales off the coast of Alaska. She receives sponsorship from an adventure clothing company and flies from her home in Tofino, Canada to Juneau, Alaska where she will stay with family friends.
As the story progresses the reader learns a lot about whales and the area of Juneau and the history of the Yukon and the gold rush. Kitty’s inquisitive nature gets her into some life and death scrapes.

I’ll start with a couple of things I didn’t like. The story was told in the first person by Kitty and she was at times very annoying. Also that little voice that kept popping into her head drove me crazy. At the start of the story Kitty kept jumping back and forward in time with her narration which was off putting.

The things I liked were Kitty’s sass and humour. I enjoyed all the historical facts of Juneau and the Yukon gold rush. There was plenty of action, danger and a couple of great twists. The little maps showing where Kitty was flying and the area she trekked through were great for someone who knows nothing about the area.
The author has added references at the end of the book for further reading on some of the animals, places and people mentioned in the story.

A fun way for students 10+ years to learn the history of the gold rush. ( )

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. ( )