Oh, excuse me. Sorry, had to wake myself up after reading this book. I have been so very fortunate in taking chances on series that are a little off-the-beaten-path, so to speak, and have found them to be really good. Once in a while, though, once comes along that reminds me that not every author can write an engaging story. This is one of those cases.
I picked up Kitty Hawk an The Curse of the Yukon Gold for several reasons. First, the advertisement compared it with Nancy Drew. Second, it was listed as a mystery. Third, the main character is an aviator, and Mildred Wirt Benson, the first ghostwriter for the Nancy Drew series, was a pilot. With that combination, I knew this had to be good. Author Iain Reading proved me wrong, that's for sure.
Kitty Hawk (and, yes, that's her name - it's a good thing she grew up with a love for flying!) is an eighteen-year old girl who is just graduating high school. She has been flying all her life, and she even has her very own sea plane, which, in this first adventure, she plans to fly up to Alaska to study the social interactions and eating habits of humpback whales. She even manages to get a clothing line company to sponsor her expedition. The back of the book indicates that she "finds herself caught up in an unforgettable adventure involving stolen gold, devious criminals, ghostly shipwrecks, and bone-chilling curses."
Are there devious criminals? Criminals, yes. Devious, not by any means.
Are there ghostly shipwrecks? Only in a twice-told story.
Are there bone-chilling curses? A curse, yes. Bone-chilling? Hardly.
For all my hopes of mystery and adventures, this book reads more like an encyclopedia that anything else. Every chapter is filled with paragraph after paragraph of geographical information about the west coast of Canada and most of Alaska, along with historical facts (with plenty of fictional information thrown in there to fit the story) about the Yukon Gold Rush (a/k/a Klondike Gold Rush). And just in case you might confuse this with an actual fictional tale, there are plenty of maps strewn throughout the book, as well as an appendix at the back of the book that will give you even MORE information about the historical facts and real places discussed in the book.
There is some adventure to the story, which begins when Kitty stumbles across a gang of thieves and is kidnapped by them and forced to fly them over into Canada to transport their stolen gold. But mystery? No, no real mystery involved, other then the mystery of why I ever bought this book in the first place. Okay, maybe that's a bit harsh. There were moments that I did enjoy of the book, such as Kitty standing up for herself, her experience with the humpback whales, and her ultimate victory over Amanda Phillpot at the end of the book (yes, Kitty has her very own foil - just like the Dana Girls' own Lettie Briggs, Amanda serves no purpose but to try and foil any good deed that Kitty does - although she only appears briefly at the beginning, and then at the end, of the story).
There is very little character development in the book - from the get-go, we are told that Kitty loves flying, and that's all we really know about her from the book. Her kidnappers are somewhat cookie-cutter, and although there are some revelations throughout the story, there is nothing that provides the reader with any deeper understanding of the men. Kitty's parents, her foil Amanda, her possible love interest Edward, and even her friend Skeena - readers get absolutely nothing about these characters other than their names.
It is a real shame - had the author chosen to take the mystery-route rather than the educational route, this could very well have been a great mystery - plenty of opportunity for mysterious, dangerous settings, as well as heart-stopping cliff-hangers. Instead, I know way more about the Alaskan and Canadian countryside, their climates, etc. than I ever wanted to know. So, if you are looking for a deeper education of Alaska and Canada - then this is the book for you! If you are looking for a good, engaging mystery - you better pass on this one, because you won't find what you are looking for!
RATING: 2 cardboard-tasting protein bars out of 10 for at least giving us an 18-year old protagonist instead of a pre-teen, and for making her brave enough to follow her instincts.
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