{Synopsis} – New York Times bestselling author Lauren Tarshis provides a birds-eye view of one of America’s most ghastly accidents ever be captured on film, the Hindenburg Disaster of 1937.
The greatest flying machine ever built is about to crash…
For eleven-year-old Hugo Ballard, flying on the Hindenburg is a dream come true. Hugo, his parents, and his four-year-old sister, Gertie, are making the thrilling four-thousand-mile journey across the Atlantic in a zeppelin as big as the Titanic.
But as the zeppelin gets ready to land, a blast rocks the Hindenburg and fire consumes the ship. The entire disaster lasts a mere thirty-two seconds, but in those few seconds, Hugo finds himself separated from his family and in a desperate race to escape the flames. The Hindenburg is doomed. And so, it seems, is Hugo. Will he survive this historic disaster?
{My thoughts} – Hugo and his family are taking their very first trip on a zeppelin. It is emphasized about how safe it is in the book to travel in this way. Hugo in his family had been living in Kenya but are flying back to New York. They were told that in New York they’d be able to get a cure for the illness that attacks his younger sister. His younger sister has been through many near death occurrences in a short amount of time.
The zeppelin is a safe means of travel and as they are making their trip they learn that there is a spy on board. They learn that the spy is smuggling papers that will help reveal the location of Nazi spies that are hiding out in America. There are some Nazis that are on board the zeppelin that are on the look out for the spy. They are trying to hunt down the spy and to bring the spy to justice.
Little do Hugo and his parents know that they have personally met and interacted with the spy. So much happens on the flight before they are able to land. When they get ready to land a lot takes place including a fire on board the zeppelin. So many end up hurt and some die due to the occurrence of the fire.
My heart breaks for everyone in this book even though it’s a fictional story. It is based on real events and real people were hurt and did die from this disaster when it had happened. I’d learned a lot of interesting information while reading the book, stuff that I plan to further research in my free time. In the mean time though, I look forward to reading the next book in this series as I am highly wrapped up in these books right now!
Final Conclusion: 5 Star Rating.
