STARCLIMBER

Matt Cruse, hero of Printz Honor–winning Airborn (2004) and its sequel, Skybreaker (2006), returns for another thrilling adventure. While working to fund his final year in pilot training, Matt receives the opportunity to participate in a secret venture that will take him beyond his beloved skies and into outer space, enduring vigorous training to become one of the mission’s “astralnauts.” Security is paramount, since there are those willing to use violence to sabotage space travel. Once again, Matt is joined by his friend/romantic interest, Kate de Vries, as she continues to research unusual life forms. Their mission is complicated by factors both technical and human: Their ship is designed to travel by way of an untried “astral cable,” and Kate can get permission from her parents to go only by getting engaged to another young man shortly before their journey begins—the strain on Matt from both sources is palpable. Once again, Oppel has assembled intriguing characters, especially Matt’s fellow astralnauts, who populate a fast-paced narrative that features enough unpredictable plot twists to keep readers riveted to Matt’s story to the finish. (Fantasy. YA)