rkendylb's review against another edition
2.0
While this is not the best book ice ever read, it is really exciting. I love April's sense of humor and the fact that she isn't afraid of danger, but she doesn't seem to have much of a weakness or to grow up a lot throughout the course of the story. Despite this, Unaccompanied Minor is a good book especially if you're looking for an exciting story.
liralen's review against another edition
3.0
April, our fearless protagonist. Descended from a long line of airline workers, most recently her mother (off-scene in the book), her father (long since deceased), and her despised stepfather. At 14, April has spent much of her life on planes, and studying planes, and preparing to be a flight attendant as soon as she is legally able. She's smart. She's independent. She's deeply, deeply irritating.
She's also on the run, and it's going to take all her resources to free herself after a kidnapping, evade her stepfather -- and, oh yes, foil a hijacking.
It bears repeating: April is annoying. She has few filters, doesn't tend to apply rules to herself, and knows how to get under the skin of character after long-suffering character. But you also have to admire her -- she's tenacious, and creative, and has a (not entirely believable) understanding of planes to rival any professional. At 14, she's interested in flirting primarily out of curiosity; as a female protagonist in the land of YA literature, she's refreshing.
Plot-wise: Do I believe it? No. Not remotely. I'll believe what the author is telling me about planes (and, sure, trunks and airline regulations and so on) but not so much that April would have such extensive knowledge to draw on. The truly craptastic work of the family court strikes me as over the top. (My knowledge of any court is limited at best, so I could be wrong. But, well, it's kind of catastrophically bad here.) I'm not really sold on Flo's revelation.
Not going on my (hypothetical) list of Best Books Ever. Is going on my (also hypothetical) I Should Read the Sequel list.
I received a free copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway.
She's also on the run, and it's going to take all her resources to free herself after a kidnapping, evade her stepfather -- and, oh yes, foil a hijacking.
It bears repeating: April is annoying. She has few filters, doesn't tend to apply rules to herself, and knows how to get under the skin of character after long-suffering character. But you also have to admire her -- she's tenacious, and creative, and has a (not entirely believable) understanding of planes to rival any professional. At 14, she's interested in flirting primarily out of curiosity; as a female protagonist in the land of YA literature, she's refreshing.
Plot-wise: Do I believe it? No. Not remotely. I'll believe what the author is telling me about planes (and, sure, trunks and airline regulations and so on) but not so much that April would have such extensive knowledge to draw on. The truly craptastic work of the family court strikes me as over the top. (My knowledge of any court is limited at best, so I could be wrong. But, well, it's kind of catastrophically bad here.) I'm not really sold on Flo's revelation.
Not going on my (hypothetical) list of Best Books Ever. Is going on my (also hypothetical) I Should Read the Sequel list.
I received a free copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway.
quietjenn's review against another edition
4.0
3 1/2. Every once in a while, I think of an author that I read as a twentysomething and who made an impression - one way or the other - and I think, "I wonder whatever happened to her?" And sometimes I find out that she just wrote a y.a. book.
If you read the description it will come as no surprise that it requires a huuuuuuge suspension of disbelief. But, if you give it to it, it's a fast, very entertaining read with a terrific voice.
If you read the description it will come as no surprise that it requires a huuuuuuge suspension of disbelief. But, if you give it to it, it's a fast, very entertaining read with a terrific voice.
jennerbee's review against another edition
3.0
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley to review.
This book was interesting. I liked all of the facts about airplanes and first aid. Those portions were well researched. I liked how we bounced back and forth between interviews and phone calls to the actual story. The protagonist came across as way too clever at times, particularly during the end. Her detailed knowledge of airplanes made sense in the context of her studying the manual and living on airplanes. The author somehow made that aspect believable, which I applaud. There was one moment toward the end that was absolutely ridiculous and not at all likely, but overall the book was pretty good.
This book was interesting. I liked all of the facts about airplanes and first aid. Those portions were well researched. I liked how we bounced back and forth between interviews and phone calls to the actual story. The protagonist came across as way too clever at times, particularly during the end. Her detailed knowledge of airplanes made sense in the context of her studying the manual and living on airplanes. The author somehow made that aspect believable, which I applaud. There was one moment toward the end that was absolutely ridiculous and not at all likely, but overall the book was pretty good.
coolcurrybooks's review against another edition
2.0
I did find Unaccompanied Minor amusing, but I think it had a lot of problems in terms of pace and plotting.
Unaccompanied Minor is a short, YA adventure novel about a fourteen year old girl who comes from a long legacy of airline employees. When her mom’s in a psychiatric hospital and someone tries to kidnap her from her stepfather’s apartment, fourteen year old April Manning survives by living in airport lounges and passing as a flight attendant. Then, she happens to be on a plan when it gets unexpectedly hijacked by the same people who tried to kidnap her earlier. She has to save the day with the help of a wounded police officer, another unaccompanied minor, his service dog, and a 67 year old flight attendant named Flo.
Unaccompanied Minor is told through a compilation of various documents, mainly an after the fact interview by the police. I don’t think this structure worked well. For one, it meant that the entire first half of the book kept suggesting what would happen and referring to future events, which took forever to arrive. This is not a long book – only about 250 pages – but so much of it was spent explaining April’s family history instead of focusing on the main events. That combined with the style led to an ambling mess of a book.
All that said, Unaccompanied Minor was still funny in parts, if not laugh out loud hilarious. There were a few good running jokes – I liked the repetition of “We see things differently.” However, the most interesting part of this book was its setting in the aviation industry (particularly since it was written by a flight attendant…). It led me to wonder how many of the insiders secrets were true, such as the character Flo who had a secret smoking spot on every different model plane.
In the end, I would only reluctantly recommend Unaccompanied Minor as a lighter read.
Originally posted on
Unaccompanied Minor is a short, YA adventure novel about a fourteen year old girl who comes from a long legacy of airline employees. When her mom’s in a psychiatric hospital and someone tries to kidnap her from her stepfather’s apartment, fourteen year old April Manning survives by living in airport lounges and passing as a flight attendant. Then, she happens to be on a plan when it gets unexpectedly hijacked by the same people who tried to kidnap her earlier. She has to save the day with the help of a wounded police officer, another unaccompanied minor, his service dog, and a 67 year old flight attendant named Flo.
Unaccompanied Minor is told through a compilation of various documents, mainly an after the fact interview by the police. I don’t think this structure worked well. For one, it meant that the entire first half of the book kept suggesting what would happen and referring to future events, which took forever to arrive. This is not a long book – only about 250 pages – but so much of it was spent explaining April’s family history instead of focusing on the main events. That combined with the style led to an ambling mess of a book.
All that said, Unaccompanied Minor was still funny in parts, if not laugh out loud hilarious. There were a few good running jokes – I liked the repetition of “We see things differently.” However, the most interesting part of this book was its setting in the aviation industry (particularly since it was written by a flight attendant…). It led me to wonder how many of the insiders secrets were true, such as the character Flo who had a secret smoking spot on every different model plane.
In the end, I would only reluctantly recommend Unaccompanied Minor as a lighter read.
Originally posted on
thatlibrarynerd's review against another edition
5.0
April is a compelling protagonist. She's spunky and resourceful. She narrates the story and it really does feel like someone is telling the story rather than it simply being written in first person. This is not a book focused on character development, but it is a character-driven story.
That said, April is not the only character and has plenty of colorful, eccentric co-stars.
The plot develops in such a way that you don't realize it's been unfolding until all the pieces come together. As for the setting, well, think you know everything about airline travel? Think again!
That said, April is not the only character and has plenty of colorful, eccentric co-stars.
The plot develops in such a way that you don't realize it's been unfolding until all the pieces come together. As for the setting, well, think you know everything about airline travel? Think again!
evking's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book, it was a quick read and it kept me thoroughly entertained all the way through. April is hilarious, even if she is a bit of a snarky know-it-all (I can honestly say I learned a lot of interesting random facts from her), and all of her companions throughout the book are likable and just as fun to read about. Unaccompanied Minor even surprised me at some points, which books rarely do for me anymore. I can usually guess exactly what is going to happen because so many of them are predictable and expected. With Unaccompanied Minor, I honestly wasn't expecting the story line that I received.
I would recommend this book for anyone who wants a fast-paced read with an entertaining protagonist who is amazingly witty and has an amusing group of family and friends which never fails to make you laugh.
I would recommend this book for anyone who wants a fast-paced read with an entertaining protagonist who is amazingly witty and has an amusing group of family and friends which never fails to make you laugh.
abookishaffair's review
4.0
3.5 stars. "Unaccompanied Minor" is the story of April, a 15 year old girl, who has been semi-neglected by her mother and her psychotic stepfather. She's a runaway that ends up getting up in a chain of events that may end with a plane crashing. This is a fun story told in a very original voice!
April was a really interesting character and I really liked that she was the one narrating the story. Not only do you get a front row seat to the story but you also get a really bright and funny voice in April. April is a huge fan of "MacGyver" and in a lot of ways, April is sort of MacGyver-ish. She is endlessly resourceful and she knows how to get out of a lot because of her smarts.
Probably my favorite thing about this book is the way that the story was told. The story opens as April is being interrogated as to what exactly happened on that plane. The author did a really good job of giving a little bit of detail at a time and allowing the reader to start to put together what happened. There were a lot of twists and turns in this book and I loved the way that it kept me on my toes.
The book was nicely paced. The story was not exactly realistic but it was interesting and entertaining. There were a couple loose ends that I would have liked to see tied up a little bit better such as why April's stepfather was so ridiculous. I didn't really get his motivation at all. Was it spite or something more. I wanted to know more about April's mother too! That being said, overall, this was a really fun, light read!
April was a really interesting character and I really liked that she was the one narrating the story. Not only do you get a front row seat to the story but you also get a really bright and funny voice in April. April is a huge fan of "MacGyver" and in a lot of ways, April is sort of MacGyver-ish. She is endlessly resourceful and she knows how to get out of a lot because of her smarts.
Probably my favorite thing about this book is the way that the story was told. The story opens as April is being interrogated as to what exactly happened on that plane. The author did a really good job of giving a little bit of detail at a time and allowing the reader to start to put together what happened. There were a lot of twists and turns in this book and I loved the way that it kept me on my toes.
The book was nicely paced. The story was not exactly realistic but it was interesting and entertaining. There were a couple loose ends that I would have liked to see tied up a little bit better such as why April's stepfather was so ridiculous. I didn't really get his motivation at all. Was it spite or something more. I wanted to know more about April's mother too! That being said, overall, this was a really fun, light read!
More...