Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com
The action in FLYING BOATS & SPIES takes off before chapter one ends. An elite plane lands at a small airfield in California. Unbeknownst to Nick Grant, the occupants are none other than Charles and Anne Lindbergh. A secret request by Anne is asked of Nick. Nick is to deliver a map case to a Mr. Grooch aboard the North Haven. What starts out as a simple request turns into murder and spy intrigue.
Set in the early 1930s, before the war, Japan and America are spying on each other. Nick just happens to have landed in the middle of the intrigue. The depression is in full bloom and Nick's family is in danger of losing their home to foreclosure. His father has traveled to Oregon in search of work, leaving Nick, his sister, and mother alone in California. Nick is still in high school, but does all he can to help earn money. When he is asked to deliver the map case to the ship, he decides he will try to join on to earn money. Upon delivering the case, he lies about his age and his name, and they bring him aboard.
Before the ship sets sail, Nick imagines he sees someone in the shadows watching him. But he shakes the thought away, finding it too impossible to believe. Only after he reads the news when the ship docks in Hawaii does he realize that more may be at stake. His boss at the small California air strip has been murdered. He is sure it has to do with the Lindberghs' and the map case, but who will believe him?
As the story unfolds, the reader learns about the early days of air travel. Though a fiction novel, it paints an amazing portrait of the hard work that went into creating the ability to navigate around the world by air. Nick does backbreaking work on his adventure, all the while smack dab in the middle of the Japan versus America chess board of the early 1930s. The reader learns of the strategic importance of placing air strips on the remote islands of Wake and Midway.
For anyone that has an interest in early air flight, history, or spy novels, this story will not disappoint. The chapters are short, allowing younger readers an easy time to enjoy the story as well. The novel ends with the idea that there could be a sequel. If there is, I know I would definitely pick it up and travel with Nick on more adventures!
The action in FLYING BOATS & SPIES takes off before chapter one ends. An elite plane lands at a small airfield in California. Unbeknownst to Nick Grant, the occupants are none other than Charles and Anne Lindbergh. A secret request by Anne is asked of Nick. Nick is to deliver a map case to a Mr. Grooch aboard the North Haven. What starts out as a simple request turns into murder and spy intrigue.
Set in the early 1930s, before the war, Japan and America are spying on each other. Nick just happens to have landed in the middle of the intrigue. The depression is in full bloom and Nick's family is in danger of losing their home to foreclosure. His father has traveled to Oregon in search of work, leaving Nick, his sister, and mother alone in California. Nick is still in high school, but does all he can to help earn money. When he is asked to deliver the map case to the ship, he decides he will try to join on to earn money. Upon delivering the case, he lies about his age and his name, and they bring him aboard.
Before the ship sets sail, Nick imagines he sees someone in the shadows watching him. But he shakes the thought away, finding it too impossible to believe. Only after he reads the news when the ship docks in Hawaii does he realize that more may be at stake. His boss at the small California air strip has been murdered. He is sure it has to do with the Lindberghs' and the map case, but who will believe him?
As the story unfolds, the reader learns about the early days of air travel. Though a fiction novel, it paints an amazing portrait of the hard work that went into creating the ability to navigate around the world by air. Nick does backbreaking work on his adventure, all the while smack dab in the middle of the Japan versus America chess board of the early 1930s. The reader learns of the strategic importance of placing air strips on the remote islands of Wake and Midway.
For anyone that has an interest in early air flight, history, or spy novels, this story will not disappoint. The chapters are short, allowing younger readers an easy time to enjoy the story as well. The novel ends with the idea that there could be a sequel. If there is, I know I would definitely pick it up and travel with Nick on more adventures!
