Uncrashable Dakota

Uncrashable Dakota
by Andy Marino
New York: Henry Holt and Co.
2013
320 pages





For those of you who loved disaster books, as I do, and especially stories about the Titanic, here is an interesting twist. What if the huge ship wasn't a sea-going vessel but rather a gigantic dirigible?

The author, Andy Marino, was very influenced by the Walter Lord story, A Night To Remember, so readers of that famous book will see elements of it in this book. But this isn't just a retelling of the Titanic sinking.

Hollis Dakota is the heir to a vast empire of airships, circa 1912. He, his mother Lucy Dakota, stepfather Jefferson Castor, and stepbrother Ron, are embarking on the maiden voyage of the Wesley Dakota, an unprecedentedly large airship named for Hollis's deceased father. Everything is going well until Hollis's mother, Lucy, is kidnapped by hijackers from their cabin and Hollis has to flee into the bowels of the ship to save himself. With the help of his stepbrother and some interesting steerage characters, Hollis manages to escape detection and work on the rescue of his mother and ultimately the ship. But who are the hijackers? That is part of the surprise of the story.

The ship encounters some of the same fate as the Titanic, hitting another airship and splitting in half. We know that not all of the passengers make it, but we are not told how many go down with the ship.

The technology used to float the massive vessel is described well and is quite unique, I think. I won't give it away since I hope you will read the story yourself. There is some back story given about the Hollis's grandfather and inventor of airship travel, Samuel Dakota, which is relevant to the present day. The mistakes we make in the past can sometimes catch up to us again in the future.

Hollis is a brave and clever boy, but he also has the help of a very clever girl, Delia. I think this is a story that boys or girls can enjoy and find characters with which they can connect.

I recommend this book for teens 14 and up. It is a story full of details, so it might seem longer than the average story. If you stick with it, you will be happy you did.