Skyship Academy

July 4, 2011
Launching the Skyship Academy series, James's debut is a fast-paced adventure that makes use of some familiar science fiction elements. In James's dystopian future, 15-year-old Jesse is a Skyship Academy student, secretly trained to help residents of Skyship, a nation of vessels hovering over a ruined America, gather the Pearls (a coveted source of energy) that fall from the sky. While on a mission, he encounters Cassius, a surface dweller and Unified Party operative who is being groomed by the manipulative Madame to become a spy. When Madame assigns Cassius to infiltrate Skyship Academy and learn its secrets, the two boys meet again, learning more about their connection to each other and to the powerful Pearls. James handles the book's dual viewpoints wellâJesse's in a self-doubting first-person narrative, Cassius's in a comparatively assured third-personâand delivers solid action sequences throughout (even making what amounts to a future game of dodgeball exciting). The book's espionage elements and teenage angst are par for the course, but James's character development and world-building compensate. Ages 12âup.

October 15, 2011
Grades 7-10 Jesse Fisher lives on a Skyship above a troubled Earth still inhabited by Surface People, who live either in one of the remaining Chosen Cities as members of the Unified Party government or as renegades hiding in Fringe Towns. It's 2095, and Jessie and a Surface kid, Cassius Stevenson, meet while searching for valuable energy Pearls. In chapters that alternate between the boys' perspectives, the story describes their discovery of their past and the dangerous talents they each now possess. This first novel is a refreshing departure from the strict dystopian trend, and it includes hard science-fiction elementsspace drama, future technology, alienswhile remaining accessible to a broad young audience. Much of the story is necessary world building, setting up for further adventures, but there are plenty of plot surprises and action sequences to keep the pages turning, and the treatment of terrorist attacks and environmental concerns will prompt readers to make connections with their own lives.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)