Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold (Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency #1) by Iain Reading

Published: November 30th 2012 by Amazon Digital Services

Read Date: September 6th 2017

Pages: 336

Stars: 5/5

Meet Kitty Hawk, who is borne to fly. Flying is second nature to her. She has different summer plans than normal high school kids have- Fly to Alaska to study Humpback Whales from her seaplane. Everything is well planned she fly to Alaska and do her research. What was not planned was unforgettable adventure of solving mystery of stolen gold, captured in wilderness by thieves and then discovering about bone chilling gold curse. Will Kitty able to save herself from thieves and solve the mystery of stolen gold and gold curse?
Book description:
Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold is the thrilling first installment in a new series of adventure mystery stories that are one part travel, one part history and five parts adventure. This first book of the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series introduces Kitty Hawk, an intrepid teenage pilot with her own De Havilland Beaver seaplane and a nose for mystery and intrigue. A cross between Amelia Earhart, Nancy Drew and Pippi Longstocking, Kitty is a quirky young heroine with boundless curiosity and a knack for getting herself into all kinds of precarious situations.

 

Okay everyone, buckle your seat belts. Charlie Foxtrot Kilo Tango Yankee is ready to fly. Isn’t that name is cool? That’s Kitty’s trusty seaplane De Havilland Beaver. You seeing the one in red and white on the cover? That’s it. I so loved it that I want fly with her in that plane.
Loved this book right from the very beginning. Book is all about Kitty’s summer adventure and Alaskan history. Basically the whole book revolves around history of Yukon Gold Rush in late 1890s. This was not like usual young armature detective and definitely different one in this genre.

“Wherever we are in this world we are not alone. We are not the only creature who find life in the sky and water and land. We are not the only creature who need it. And we cannot just take and take and take. We have to give. And we have to respect.“

Kitty Hawk- Our heroine of the book was smart, funny, entertaining. Definitely NOT whiny typical teenage girl. She was portrayed really well in this book, so natural and realistic. Her development through gold adventure was pretty amazing. At first I doubted 2 or 3 things about her, like her trusting ability and her easy nature on that adventure. I was so sure that her this nature may put her in danger but she just surprised me or should I say author surprised me. I also loved her habit of comparing things with books she never read, it was peculiar. Best thing about her was her monologues, her conversations with her inside little voice. It was logical and funny and also gave pretty good idea about her thought process.
I also loved her parents, their way of teaching and Skeena’s grandpa. In the very beginning they gave clear idea how our heroine would be like. Friends she made in this adventure were awesome.

Adventurous start of the book. This is first book that have 2 prologues and chapter zero which gave pretty good idea about Kitty’s background and her childhood. I loved reading her voice and her childhood was really jaw dropping specially her flying lesson. I so loved reading this book from Kitty’s POV. Her letter to her favorite clothing company was so good and her sign off signature at the end of the mail was beautiful that I took picture of it. Here it is-

I liked the flow of the book, first her Humback Whale adventure, campfire story of Yukon Gold Rush and then Kitty’s adventure of solving the mystery of stolen gold. How all that woven and related to Gold Rush was pretty amazing. During all those narration I felt like I was sitting with Kitty in her plane and watching Humpback or listening stories. Did I mention there were maps of Yukon Gold Rush? Those maps were very small in my kindle but they were all available on google so used it for convenience.
Here comes the mind-blowing part of the book that I loved so much-
There were lot of stories within this story and they were so mesmerizing that I never wanted it to end. That gold curse story involved in her adventure was the best.
Author has covered all places with detailed landscape and history that were related to the Yukon Rush. It was so well researched and I felt like author has personally visited all those places, learned everything about it and put it all in words. I got to know lot about Canada, Alaska, Humpback whale, and history of Yukon Gold Rush. Also, about authors who became famous with and because of this Gold Rush.
Best thing was the authenticity of all the information about places, humpback whales, bears along with the clothing company and Kitty’s aircraft De Havilland Beaver. Author has given all the information related to all of it at the end of the book. How to find these places and how you can google it for more information and books references of those famous authors who has written books on Gold Rush. Isn’t it pretty amazing? Usually authors give discussion questions at the end but here author has given lot of homework of googling for readers. I so enjoyed googling it that I proudly showed it to my husband and family telling them ‘see I learned all these things just by reading this book’. 😉
There were many twists in the book. At some point I really had no idea what was going to come next, what Kitty will do and how this story was going to end. Author has given me many surprises in the book specially the in the End and also in epilogue. It was pretty cool in fact. Till the end I was thinking first prologue is not making sense where was that particular event! And finally I got that answer in the epilogue. So guys don’t miss prologues and epilogue.
Kitty’s adventure also gave a lesson on the human greed, how far it can take them and how much damage it can cause to not only their life but also earth.

Overall, Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold is adventurous, entertaining book that will take you back in the Gold Rush era with lot of information and stories. It is not just for YAs, everyone can enjoy this book. If you love history and adventure, this book is for you.

Author: Iain Reading 

About the Author:
Iain Reading is passionate about Root Beer, music, and writing. He is Canadian, but currently resides in the Netherlands working for the United Nations.
Iain is the author of the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series, The Wizards of Waterfire Series, and the dragon of the month club. To learn more, go to
Check out the book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxboPL0ge3Q
Buy Here: Amazon.com / Amazon.in
*** Note: I received this book from the author via Kelsey @bookpublicityservices, in exchange for an honest review. I am glad I got chance to read this book. ***

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Happy Reading! 🙂