Getting Air

by Dan Gutman

Overview

They can rule the half-pipe, but can they survive this?

Jimmy, David, and Henry are psyched. It's summer, school's out, and they are on their way to California, where they will be able to do some major skating. But on the plane, the unthinkable happens: They are hijacked by terrorists. As frightened as they may be, they take action and they succeed. Sort of. They may have beaten the terrorists, but now their plane has crashed in the middle of nowhere and all of a sudden, their summer vacation is about finding food, shelter, and a rescue. Can three normal twelve-year-old boys find a way to get by without fast food and skate parks?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780689876806
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication date:	04/24/2007
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.90(d)
Lexile:	660L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Dan Gutman hated to read when he was a kid. Then he grew up. Now he writes cool books like The Kid Who Ran for President; Honus & Me; The Million Dollar Shot; Race for the Sky; and The Edison Mystery: Qwerty Stevens, Back in Time. If you want to learn more about Dan or his books, stop by his website at DanGutman.com.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 4-6
Thirteen-year-old Jimmy, his little sister Julia, and his two best friends embark on a cross-country flight to stay with family in California, where the boys hope to get sponsorship for their skateboarding club. Jimmy helps an elderly knitter with her bag, and learns she is part of a group who is traveling to a knitting convention. When terrorists charge the cockpit and take over the plane, the boys leap into action, killing the hijackers with the help of the women and their knitting needles. They then discover that the pilots are dead and that the plane is out of fuel, and when they crash, the real story begins-survival in the deep forest. It may be highly improbable that the only survivors are the kids, the elderly knitter, and the flight attendant, but the tale remains enjoyable as the silly banter is preserved and the can-do attitude of the youngsters is easy to appreciate. The boys learn from the two adults and Julia, whose girl-scout knowledge gains everyone's admiration, and they make it seem like almost dying in a fiery plane crash can be kind of fun. A true adventure book, with high-spirited and fundamentally good boys as the central characters, Getting Air should find a wide audience.
—John LeightonCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

In this serio-comic adventure from veteran author Gutman, a boy and his friends survive a plane crash, but must find a way to stay alive in the woods until they're rescued. Jimmy, a skateboarding fanatic, stands up to terrorist hijackers on a cross-country flight and later to his friends, but has to listen to his little sister, who actually knows something about wilderness survival. Mix in a beautiful young flight attendant and a sparky elderly lady for fun. The narrative features nice suspense but comes across more as a comedy, as the group never seems threatened by their wilderness experience. Plenty of adolescent humor and well-placed deus ex machina plot manipulations easily overcome the minor difficulties of making fire and finding water, food and shelter. If the humor sometimes seems out of place, it's still perfectly pitched to the middle-school crowd. A great choice for reluctant readers. (Fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews