Brightstorm: 1 (The Brightstorm Chronicles)

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Twelve-year-old twins Maudie and Arthur’s world comes crashing in when their explorer dad is reported dead in his mission to get to South Polaris. Not only that, their family name is tainted when he is accused of stealing another skyship’s fuel before he died, which means they are unable to inherit their family home. Twins Arthur and Maudie are children to a famous explorer. Their father had been on an expedition to the South Polaris when his airship presumably crashed and the entire crew perished. With his death and the children now orphaned, Arthur and Maudie are thrust from a life of comfort, to one of destitution. Their father, blamed with stealing fuel from another airship before his ship crashed, violated the laws of explorers, and therefore, lost everything in his name. The plot was also pretty good. You would think a story simply about a crew of people travelling would be boring, but the author managed to keep me invested throughout! The pacing was very well done, as it was neither too fast nor too slow, and it had enough action to keep my interest. I do think that the mystery could’ve been more, y’know, ~mysterious~, as it was kinda obvious all the way through… but oh well *shrugs* It didn’t really affect my enjoyment in the long run. The writing is engaging throughout, with lots of humour and quirks, fun dialogue, and a style that felt close to Arthur but with enough distance to also give it an old-fashioned adventure style. The characters were great fun too -- I especially enjoyed Harriet, the sky-ship's captain, and the ship's ever-hilarious cook. Test Prep: SAT, ACT, ACT Redbook, PSAT, AP US Government, AP US History, AP Biology, and AP Calculus AB

I love books that center on explorers and adventurers, so Brightstorm right away seemed like something that I would like. It did not disappoint when it comes to the exploratory aspect and I had such an incredibly time following Arthur and Maudie along their journey to reach South Polaris, a relatively untouched piece of land (that is, untouched from humans, at least) that is at the heart of a competition by the LonTown Geographical Society to reach.What follows is a fun and fast-paced adventure reminiscent of a mix of Around the World in 80 Days and Lara Croft (if she was a kid), with mysteries to solve, a race to win, magical beasts, a steampunky world, and personal challenges to face. This is a very well-paced book, with plenty of action and high-stakes, as well as lovely personal and tender moments and introspection. I also loved how Hardy handled Arthur's feelings about his disability and how he overcame his anxieties around it. Brightstorm is a wonderfully paced, absorbing read that delivers a special feeling of adventure reserved for stories that you just cannot put down. The story focuses on twin siblings who are searching for answers about their missing father, a famous lost explorer who went down with his airship under mysterious circumstances. After losing their only living parent, the twins find themselves in dire straits and soon find themselves destitute. But their ingenuity, intelligence, and determination land them on a new airship in the midst of a global race to explore a new and dangerous land, and possibly find out the fate of their father along the way. But there are hidden forces willing to try anything to stop them. Les jumeaux Brightstorm apprennent qu'ils ont tout perdu après les revers de leur père parti en exploration. Celui-ci aurait péri au cours de son périple et aurait été accusé d'avoir enfreint le règlement de la Société Géographique. Résultat, les enfants sont orphelins et spoliés de leurs biens. Family isn’t always what you’re born into. It’s what you do for each other and the experiences you go through together that make a family.” Tsubata, Kate, "Home-Schooling: A Perfect Storm for Online Learning", The Washington Times, January 4, 2009

The basic set-up of the story is quite similar to lots of MG books: one of the protagonist’s parents died; they realise there might be more to it than that; they go on a miraculous journey to discover the truth; etc. I went into it kinda expecting it to average- but it definitely surprised me. Because although Brightstorm might not be the most original book out there, it’s still SUPER entertaining!! Miller, Claire Cain, "A Start-Up Helps With the Run-Up to College", The New York Times, October 21, 2008 All test prep courses offer worksheets, study guides, and practice tests. SAT and ACT courses also offer diagnostic tests as well as two full-length tests. Other services provided by Brightstorm include Math Genie and College Counseling. [ citation needed]

Wow! This is the first time I've received an ARC for a book that I "Wished" for on Netgalley. Thanks so much Norton Young Readers! If you're at all animal-obsessed like I am, then you'll appreciate Parthena, the hawk that belonged to Brightstorm's father, and the thought-wolves that are also discovered along their journey. It was details and additions such as these that really added to the adventure and excitement of the story and that made me enjoy it as much as I did. The setting and atmosphere also brings a lot to the story, and if you like the His Dark Materials/The Golden Compass books, then I have a feeling you'll also enjoy this one. It probably has a slightly younger target audience, but the adventure components are there and the airships, animals, and general exploratory adventure that they embark on all gave me those His Dark Material vibes. Brightstorm is basically about twins Maudie and Arthur Brightstorm, who are the children of the explorer Ernest Brightstorm. The twins are devastated when they receive news that their father died in an attempt to reach South Polaris, the southernmost point in this imaginary world. But when something strange makes them question this story, Maudie and Arthur must set out on a daring journey to try and discover the truth. A final appreciation is for the condemnation of rapacious, violent colonial exploration and exploitation, not made a heavy handed Point of, but made very firmly clear. Firstly, the characters. Our main protagonists are obviously Arthur and Maudie, although the book is only from Arthur’s perspective. We also have a whole load of side characters, like Harriet Culpepper, Felicity Wiggety and Eudora Vane. Although the characters could feel a bit more fleshed out imo, I did still like them! Arthur is a likeable enough protagonist, and it was nice to see that he made mistakes and wanted to make up for them. Often, the characters in MG books don’t feel realistic, but Arthur mostly did, so that was nice :)