Skyjacked

by Paul Griffin

Overview

Have a nice flight . . .

Cassie, Tim, Emily, Brandon, and Jay are on their way back from a camping trip, flying from Idaho to New York City on Cassie's family's private plane. This might be a usual thing for the others, but for Jay, it's only his second time ever on a plane. And what starts as a normal flight soon veers desperately out of control.One of the regular pilots is sick, so there's a replacement. Cassie has suddenly fallen ill for no reason. And Jay notices the plane is flying west instead of east.As the military works feverishly on the ground to find out what's going on, the friends are trapped thirty-seven thousand feet in the air on a plane that's clearly been hijacked. Only no one knows who's in control or why it's happening. Their only chance to survive is by working together, but when everyone is a suspect, trusting the wrong person is a deadly mistake. With each passing minute, the gas gauge drops, alliances shift, and danger rises. Will anyone make it off Flight 21 alive?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338047417
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	07/30/2019
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	490,473
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.00(d)
Lexile:	HL780L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Paul Griffin is the critically acclaimed author of many novels, including Ten Mile River, The Orange Houses, Stay with Me, Burning Blue, Adrift, as well as the middle grade novels When Friendship Followed Me Home and Saving Marty. Paul lives in Manhattan with his family, along with several maniac dogs. He can be found online at paulgriffinstories.com.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Adrift

"A beautiful, haunting, horrific tale. Read this one when you won't be disturbed — Paul Griffin deserves your undivided attention." — Barry Lyga, author of the New York Times bestseller I Hunt Killers* "A terrifying survival story, visceral, intense, profound, will haunt readers." — Publishers Weekly, starred review"This fast-paced survival adventure makes an excellent crucible for Griffin's examination of class." — Kirkus Reviews"Griffin keeps the pages turning; he has a gift for drawing out the suspense and immersing the reader in the story... complex, unpredictable, and entirely authentic." — Booklist

From the Publisher

08/01/2019

Gr 5 Up—Five friends who attend the prestigious Hartwell Academy in New York decide to take a last-minute camping trip to Idaho before beginning their sophomore year. Cassie, Tim, Emily, and Brandon have been close friends since kindergarten. Their families are wealthy, and they are used to having a private jet at their disposal. Jay, who recently transferred to Hartwell, is just a regular kid who must work to help his mom since his dad passed away. He is trying to have a good time but feels that he doesn't really fit in. The return flight home is anything but normal. There is a substitute copilot, they notice that the plane is flying west instead of east, and suddenly, Cassie becomes violently ill. Eventually, the kids realize that their plane has been hijacked—but by whom? And why? Cassie trusts the pilot, Tony, but he has locked the cockpit, which is unusual. Michelle Okolo, an intern at the National Air Traffic Investigation Center, ends up right in the middle of this crisis and wants to contribute however she can to the investigation. As the crisis team works to determine what is happening with the rogue plane, the young friends must come up with a plan to overpower the hijacker. But whom should they trust? And, even if they are successful, who will land the plane? VERDICT This riveting middle grade novel is full of excitement and suspense with every page-turn.—Annette Herbert, F. E. Smith Elementary School, Cortland, NY

School Library Journal

2019-04-07
Five high school sophomores returning to their New York prep school from a camping trip in Idaho realize that their private plane has been hijacked.

The passenger list includes Japanese-American Cassie, whose father owns the plane; her best friend, Indian-American Brandon; football star Tim, who is white; Tim's Latinx girlfriend, Emily; Korean-American Jay, who feels out of place as a working-class boy on a baseball scholarship; and three white adults—their chaperone, pilot, and a substitute copilot. Soon after takeoff, something does not seem right: Cassie becomes seriously ill, and the plane is heading west. The story unfolds in chapters that alternate between the viewpoints of the teens on the plane and that of Michelle, a 16-year-old Nigerian-American intern at the National Air Traffic Investigation Center who is trying to discover the identity and motivation of the hijacker. Readers learn about each character—their personal ambitions, fears, thoughts, and mutual history. With the clock ticking before disaster ensues, emotions run high, the kidnappees have violent emotional breakdowns, and everyone questions whom to trust before readers learn the true motive behind the hijacking. Using straightforward, unadorned language that will appeal to reluctant readers, Griffin (Saving Marty, 2017, etc.) seamlessly weaves in topics such as financial struggles, family expectations, and relationship complications, shedding light on the friends, their emotions, and the hijacking without slowing down the action. Diversity is indicated solely through names.

Readers who crave nonstop plot-driven adventure will not be disappointed. (Thriller. 12-15)

Kirkus Reviews