Spring Break Reading Challenge - Activity #3

Not on Spring Break just yet? That's okay, neither am I. Join the Spring Break Reading Challenge anyhow, which runs from Friday, March 12 - Sunday, March 21.

Activity #3 - What are you reading?

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

It is the cusp of World War I, and all the European powers are arming up. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition. The British Darwinists employ fabricated animals as their weaponry. Their Leviathan is a whale airship, and the most masterful beast in the British fleet.
Aleksandar Ferdinand, prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battle-torn Stormwalker and a loyal crew of men.
Deryn Sharp is a commoner, a girl disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.
With the Great War brewing, Alek's and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way...taking them both aboard the Leviathan on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure. One that will change both their lives forever.

It took me 242 pages to really get into this book. The technology is so beyond my realm of understanding and imagination that I found some passages quite difficult to visualize. But! Once it all clicked for me (and it did, more than halfway through), I started zooming through it. I appreciated getting to know Alek and Deryn separately, but the story really comes together once they meet. I love it! I want to go finish it now!

If you've never read anything by Scott Westerfeld, consider yourself truly deprived. Check out his website, designed in the Leviathan style at the moment, and follow him on Twitter @ScottWesterfeld.