I finished Updraft and it was a great read.

The start of the show is the world-building. Fran Wilde has created a unique and fascinating world for her characters. The only world they know is their city made of living bone towers jutting out of a permanent layer of clouds that conceals the world below. What is down there? What exactly is the bone city? There are many exciting questions some of which get answered and some of which will have to wait for the next book. What is quickly evident is that at some point long in the past, the people had to climb up the towers to survive.  Now they live in the sky and use silk wings to fly on the winds. There is tremendous world-building.

The story follows an older teenage named Kirit as she attempts to pass her wing-test that will let her fly between the towers on her own and begin to apprentice as a trader like her mother. Things get complicated and she ends up learning many things about the city and herself. By and large the characters are well-drawn with believable motivations and distinct personalities. One of the things I really enjoyed was the obvious ambition of Kirit’s mother.

If there is a weakness, and it’s far from fatal, I think it lies in the plot which slows down in the middle and relies a little too much on conversations to convey information. I got a little concerned about the story around that middle part, but things get back on track and overall I found it an excellent read.  So a minor hiccup, but mostly it was great. I’m going with 4.5 stars.

Check out my ratings post to see how I come up with my stars.

A quick note on the language. We’re talking about one or two uses of a swear word for poop in reference to actual poop. I debated if I should mention it at all, but the word is there.

Age Group:
YA – Young Adult


Explicit:
Very Mild Language and Mild Violence


My Rating:

 

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