by Scott Westerfeld
(2010 | 485 p)
The adventure continues in "Behemoth," the second installment of Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan trilogy. Deryn Sharp, a young woman who has disguised herself as a boy so that she can serve in the British Air Service, is quite enamored with Alek, the heir to the empire of Austria-Hungary. Unfortunately, Alek doesn't know that he's a she and young love is quite thwarted as a result. Deryn's loyalties are torn between her oath to the British Air Service, which she takes quite seriously, and her feelings for Alek.
Through a series of misadventures Deryn and Alek find themselves working together to halt the first World War. No small task for a pair of 15-year-olds, even if one of them may be a future Emperor. I found myself slightly confused by some of the political machinations -- but that probably speaks more to my ignorance regarding the events surrounding World War I than to Westerfeld's storytelling.
Written in the delightful steampunk style, Westerfeld creates a fascinating world of machine loving Clankers and beastie fabricating Darwinists. This young adult novel features strong female characters, a definite plus. Recommended for fans of steampunk or young adult science fiction.
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