Skyjacked

by Paul Griffin

Six friends who attend Manhattan's elite Hartwell Academy are returning from an end-of-summer camping trip together on a private plane. Everything seems normal... except one of the regular pilots is sick, so there's a replacement; Cassie is starting to get violently ill for no clear reason; and they realize the plane is flying west, not east. Soon it's clear: the plane has been hijacked. But by who, and why? Where are they going? What made Cassie so sick? And even if they somehow make it into the cockpit and overpower the hijacker, could they land the plane? Emotions are running high, and choosing who to trust is a matter of life or death.

Genres: Young Adult, Thriller, Adventure, Survival, Mystery, Middle Grade, Suspense

Paperback

First published July 1, 2019

About the author

Paul Griffin lives, writes, and trains dogs in New York City. His previous novel, The Orange Houses, was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults Top Ten, an International Reading Association 2010 Notable Book for a Global Society, a Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best Book of 2009, and an Amelia Bloomer Project Award winner.

Reviews

[Sarah Jamieson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really exciting teen survival story! Recommended to me by Cailin 😉

[Adele · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little over-simplified, but very fast-paced making for a quick and enjoyable read, if occasionally a little jarring. I think I would have loved this when I was twelve. As adult I still thought it was pretty good.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skyjacked by Paul Griffin, 240 pages. Scholastic Press, 2019. $18.

Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG-13 (some deaths)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

On their way home from a luxury camping trip, five classmate’s lives are in danger when someone takes control of their private plane. The main suspect is the replacement co-pilot, but the teens are not sure if any of the adults on board are trust-worthy. Why these kids? Why this plane? When things go even further south, can the teens manage to save themselves?

Even though the teens are a bit over-privileged, the drama of the sky-jacking is taut and terrifying and will hold students’ attention.

Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2019...

[Samuel Oden · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Please tell our families we love them.” 😭

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Paul Griffin is known for his fast-paced action thrillers, and this book is no exception. In it, he places five fairly ordinary adolescents in a less than ordinary situation. The friends are returning from a hiking trip in Idaho to their homes in New York City. Cassie's family is quite well off so the plane is owned by her family. Jay is new to the school and these teens, and he's not so sure how well he's fitting in. Still, he has enjoyed the trip so far even with Cassie's daredevil antics and seeming death wish. Once aboard the plane, Jay realizes that something is wrong, and they seem to be flying in the wrong direction. Things go from bad to worse as Cassie becomes ill, and suspicion falls on everyone, even those who should be protecting her. The plane has been hijacked, and the youngsters realize that it's up to them to find a way to survive this ordeal. The author does a good job of casting suspicion on almost everyone amid all the excitement and more mundane moments, and having a research assistant for the National Air Traffic Investigation Center, Michelle Okolo, on the ground trying to do her part to get the plane's passengers to safety adds to the suspense and drama. While some parts of the story seemed unlikely, others worked well, reminding readers that revenge is indeed a dish best served cold. The author drops hints about the hijacker's identity early on, but readers may not pick up on these.

[Morton Grove Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed by Noor Al-Saimary

This book was amazing. I read the entire book in one sitting because I was so desperate to see what happens next. I really like murder mystery books and this has to be one of my favorites. The setting made this one especially interesting. I have recommended this book to a friend and they also enjoyed it.

[Leigh Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't wait to hand this one to my students!

[Charlotte]

teens on a highacked private plane not knowing which adult on board to trust...lots of tension, and it was fine, just didn't connect to it all that much.

[Ashley Hite · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 wealthy high school sophomores are returning from a end of summer camping trip aboard their private jet. During the flight something goes horribly wrong as they realize they are headed in the wrong direction and their plane has been hijacked. This puts the teens in the fight for their lives as they try to figure out how to survive, who to trust and who turned against them. Will they even make it off the plane alive?

I liked the story overall, it was full of suspense and a good story line. It is told from thee perspective of multiple characters and I enjoyed the concept of a midflight hijacking. I think the part I struggled with was that it seemed very unrealistic in terms of what the characters knew. The fact that they were young high schoolers who knew how to handle all of the situations from dire medical evaluation to exploding oxygen tanks seemed far fetched. One side character was Michelle a high school senior interning at air traffic control...when a plane has been hijacked I find it highly unlikely that a General and Major would defer to her. I understand its YA fiction but would have been more believable if they had at least been college students.

[Jaycee Rieb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five high school kids who attend Hartwell High (Cassie Ando, (Father owns a company Ando Chemical Co.)Emily Alarcon, Brandon Singh, Tim Cuddy, and new member Jay Rhee) went on a camping trip to Ohio where Cassie went out on a slacline and Brandon had to comsave her she is the most rebellious and has a lot in common with Brandon. After they went back on the private plane but realize something was wrong. (right after Cassie got a souvenir pony for Tony's granddaughter). The regular pilot and it had been subbed in by Sofia Powell and their families long term pilate Tony who has been with them for years he Cassie the main girl whose parents own a private jet later on Cassie strayed feeling sick she was poisoned as we later come to find out. Cassie is suspicious about Sophia and Reeva their extra security breach. Cassie eventually dies from her sickness The kids tried to bust into the cockpit a few times Sofia eventually blast fire extinguisher powder into their eyes and throws Tony out of the cockpit cuffed with earphone Emily and Brandon untie him and he tried to explain and or remember what happens this is before Cassie passes away. Reeva and Tony accuse each other of both either being in the same side or on the opposite meaning good and evil. Tony Blake eventually converses the kids to give him the gun he shoots Reeva once she is dead Emily Cassie’s best friend tries to reach for her phone however Tony gets to it first and Emily then realizes the phone is Granny Smith apple green realizing that is what Tony had given Cassie knowing that this is her favorite snack he tried to get some of the other kids to eat the apples so they will fall asleep and not notice the plane has been hijacked Tony ends up being behind all of it the plane it’s going toland in the opposite direction on "Pyramid Lake" he then starts a ransom while with the kids and has a drone videotape him holding a gun to the kids are still in the plane Jay the newcomer of the group has an idea taking oxygen tank and throwing it towards his head knocking him in his right temple area knocking him unconscious to his death. The kids later find out that Sophia is dead and they have to try to maneuver the plane by themselves They find out that Reba had a back up phone and contact Michelle an intern at the military base. After a while they eventually get in contact with the NATIC in Coltsville, Virginia whose has been trying to help them this whole time includes Michelle Okolo who want ever bit a information they can to serve as evidence or a led or perhaps even a direct location. While still I contact with them the kids come to the conclusion of the only way they will get off this plan with out anything drastic happenening is if they jump two to a parachute (limited) hopefully landing over water. Coming back to the normal lives Emily and Jay take flamenco dancing she used to be dating Tim and Brandon Cassie’s other childhood friends were Cassie’s bracelet around school still having PTSD and nightmares about the experimics of the summer events!

[Shay Wiley · Rating 5 out of 5]

During the beginning of the book, all of the teens were on a camping trip in Idaho. When their trip ended, they flew home on Cassie’s family’s private plane. Cassie’s family’s plane included their life-long pilot, Tony, his co-pilot, Nick, who was, unfortunately, sick, and his sub, Sofia. The passengers were Cassie, Brandon, Tim, Emily, Jay, and Reeva, their chaperone. When the plane went up into the sky, Jay had realized that the plane was going in the wrong direction, and the plane was flying too high. The observations scared a few people, but they just figured that they hit turbulence and taking an alternate route. Later on, more things seemed fishy to the passengers. They knew something was wrong, and they were right. The pane had been hijacked, but the hijacker was unknown. Everyone figured the hijacker was Sofia because she was new, or Reeva because she hasn’t been there for a long time. Through the whole book, there were lots of arguments and attempts to invade the cockpit which didn’t work. When Reeva held a gun, everyone figured that she was the hijacker, so the kids attacked and killed her. After, the kids realized that Tony, the life-long pilot was the hijacker who set everything up. At the end of the story, the kids killed Tony and found out that Sofia died, and Tim didn’t jump out of the plane for safety, so he died with Cassie. At the end of the story, Jay, Emily, and Brandon survived, but nothing was ever the same.

The main characters in the story are Reeva, Sofia, Tony, the teens (Emily, Cassie, Jay, Tim, and Brandon) and Michelle. Reeva was the chaperone during the trip who got killed because the teenagers thought she was the hijacker. Sofia is the substitute for NIck, the co-pilot that was sick. Sofia was always blamed for the hijack but had nothing to do with it. Tony is the life-long pilot for the Andos family who hijacked the plane to crash into a chemical company because his god-child died from chemicals. The teens are all rich and friends accompanied by Jay, a new kid to the school. Lastly, Michelle is an intern at an air traffic investigation center that saves the lives of the teens when deciding that they had to jump.

The story starts in Idaho on a camping trip, but the story is mainly set in the sky when the kids are on the plane. There aren’t many details about the plane, but we know that it is a private plane owned by the Andros family.

My favorite part of the story was when Tony told the teenagers that he was behind the hijacking. It is my favorite part because it was such a surprise that he would do something like that to a person that he has known for a very long time. I would recommend this book to everyone I know because it is so interesting and it is a quick read. I would give this book five stars out of five!

[Ian Providence · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel although short leaves you with an action packed story with events that will have you skip over family dinner. 5 rich kids take a trip to Idaho and it could be their last. Returning from their spoiled trip the plane takes an odd way home. No one knows where it is going and the 5 kids including some accomplices are wondering where it is taking them. A plane floating in the air is saving these kids from total disaster. On the ground people who are experts about planes can’t figure out what is going on. New or old employees had to pitch in to solve this problem. It takes everyone to make it back home safely but the way they get back is truly a thriller. I was skeptical of this book at first based on the semi-old cover but this book has proved me wrong and shows that any book has the potential to make you keep flipping the pages.

I loved how straightforward the plot was and the way it was organized. Every event between characters and action was perfectly set. I also appreciate each chapter of the book being different perspectives of the 6 main characters (Cassie, Tim, Jay, Emily, Brandon, Tony). It added a great layer to the story and really put us in the mind of each character and what they were going through. The plot twists and shifts in the story kept the story moving and made me want to find out what happened next immediately. Although the ending wasn’t as grand as I hoped, the rest of the plot made up for it, especially the final event of the book which left me speechless.

My only downside of this book was the character development. They are stagnant as far as evolution for the majority of the book and I feel like it leaves out an element of the book that you see in most other action-packed novels like this. Overall I wish the character’s growth in the story was better. You would think with 5 rich kids and a couple side characters there would be some tension that they must overcome and look inside themselves and reflect on the way they act not just in the moment but entirely. But at the end of the day, they came off that plane with their character still intact with little to no room for character growth.

Overall I would recommend this book to fans of mysteries (potentially) murder mysteries), action-packed with no emotional dialogue,and most of all, readers looking for a quick, straightforward read and easy to understand and enjoy. In addition it is also safe for middle schoolers to read so if any middle school teachers read it they recommend it to your class. They will love it :)

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skyjacked takes the reader on a thriller of a ride. Five teenage friends who attend an elite private academy are finishing up a camping trip. After hopping on Cassie's father's private jet, they are ready to head back to New York. But things are quite right. Emily is dating Tim, but seems interested in Jay, who isn't quite comfortable at the school since he's on scholarship and not from a wealthy family like the others. Cassie and Brandon are best friends, but Cassie's recklessness threatens their lives. And Tim, despite his large size, is a confused scared kid.

Things take a strange turn when Jay notices the plane is heading west instead of east and the cockpit door is locked, which it isn't normally. When Cassie gets violently ill, fear enters the cabin and the teenagers and Cassie's bodyguard have to decide what to do. Meanwhile, Michelle is working as an intern at NATIC (National Air Traffic Investigation Center) in hopes of getting a recommendation to the Air Force Academy. But after failing a simulation, she's not as confident as she once was.

When it becomes clear that the flight is deliberately off-course, Michelle struggles to find a way to help amidst all the chaos. And on the flight, the friends frantically try to save Cassie's life while trying to decide what, if anything, they should attempt to do to get the plane back on course. The hijacker seems obvious at first, after all the co-pilot is a fill-in and they know nothing about her. But the bodyguard is new as well and Cassie doesn't like her. As the situation becomes more dire so do the stakes and difficult decisions must be made.

I stayed up late finishing this one because I wanted to know what happened. To me that's a sign the author did a good job with the plotting. The story is front and center here, although enough details are given about various characters for them to seem real and unique. Since the focus is on the tragedy the teens find themselves in there isn't any drugs or sex. I was also impressed that their isn't any swearing either making this appropriate for middle grade readers. Middle grade readers who enjoy thrillers that is. Naturally, the situation doesn't resolve itself in an entirely happy way, there are deaths involved as one might expect in such a situation. Probably not the best read though for middle graders who don't handle tragedy or tension very well. But an enjoyable read for those who aren't as troubled by those things.

[Kate Waggoner · Rating 5 out of 5]

@kidlitexchange #partner

Thank you to the publisher @scholasticinc and the author #paulgriffin for sharing an advance copy of Skyjacked with the #kidlitexchange network. Skyjacked was released on August 13 and is now available for purchase.

Cassie, Tim, Emily, Brandon, and Jay are high school students on their way back home after a camping trip in Idaho. The five friends, along with their chaperone Reeva and the two pilots, board Cassie's father's private jet for what they expect to be a four hour flight back to New York. Once in the air, things start to go wrong fast. First, Jay notices that the plane is flying west not east. Then Cassie mysteriously falls ill. The friends soon realize that the plane has been hijacked, but they don't know who to trust and who to blame. At the same time, the military is working to find out what's going on on the plane and prevent it from ending in mass causalities. The friends realize they can't depend solely on the military and they will have to come up with their own plan to save themselves.

This is a fast-paced novel that sucks you in from page one. The chapters alternate perspectives between the friends and a sixth character, Michelle Okolo, who is an intern at the National Air Traffic Control Investigation Center and who is part of the team trying to help safely land the plan. The alternating perspectives adds depth and suspense to the narrative. Skyjacked was so easy to get into and honestly could be read in a single sitting (if I hadn't started it so late last night, I would have read it in one sitting). The action is vivid and well-timed. The reader is able to make connections with each character and see how they're feeling and what they're thinking. Just as the characters are trying to solve the mystery of who hijacked the plane, so is the reader, and I honestly was not disappointed by this book once. Very few things in the plot were predictable and as each piece was revealed I became more and more invested in the friends and their survival. This is a book that I foresee being hard to keep on the shelf in my classroom library. It is so well-written and captivating that I now also what to check out Griffin's previous book, Adrift. I can't wait to get a copy of this book to share with my students.

[Genevieve · Rating 4 out of 5]

@kidlitexchange #partner thank you to author #paulgriffin and publisher @scholasticinc for sharing a review copy of Skyjacked with #kidlitexchange. All opinions are my own. Skyjacked was released on August 13 and copies are available for purchase now!

Skyjacked was such a fast and fast-paced read! I read it in one day, because the story and characters gripped me and wouldn’t let me leave their world.

Five teens- Cassie, Emily, Brandon, Jay, and Tim- are heading back to New York after an adventure in Idaho. They board a private plane that Cassie’s dad owns, piloted by Tony Blake, who has been with the family for 8 years, and Sofia, who is a new pilot filling in for the usual co-pilot. Right away, Jay realizes something is off- the plane isn’t heading the right direction. Then Cassie falls ill. The door to the cockpit, which is usually left open, is suddenly locked. Suddenly, the five teenagers don’t know who to trust, or how to get out alive. With the help of Michelle Okolo, another teen who is working with the military on the ground to get them home safely, the teens have to use every bit of knowledge, strength, and trickery to figure out who to trust and how to get out of the plane alive. Will it be enough?

I loved this book because it kept me on the edge of my seat up until the very end. There were many twists and turns in the plot, enough to keep the reader guessing but not too many as to be confusing. I loved that each chapter was told from the point of view of a different teenager, including Michele Okolo, a high school student who was helping the military ground crew as part of her internship. It helped the reader get to know each character- what their relationship was to the others, what made them tick, what their motivations were. I found myself trying to figure out who the skyjacker was by going back and re-reading clues from each character. It was far from predictable though- it wasn’t until the very end that I got the whole picture!

I can’t wait to add this book to my library, I know my students are going to love it! I might have to buy multiple copies! Definitely add it to your To Be Read list of its not there already!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Paul Griffin's Skyjacked in one day; it was an exciting, well-crafted, suspenseful and action-packed adventure! Five teens are traveling on a private plane to New York City, after a thrilling experience camping and rock-repelling in Idaho. Cassie Ando, whose parents own the plane, is at the center of this group, comprised of Brandon, her best friend; Tim, a football player; Emily, another best friend; and Jay, who transferred to their private high school and is on a scholarship.
The day of their departure, things start off in an unusual way, as Nick, the co-pilot has had to call out sick and has a replacement of a young woman, Sofia, who will be the co-pilot. Tony, the longtime pilot, greets the group and reassures Reeva, their chaperone onboard, that everything should go smoothly. With reports of upcoming air turbulance due to storm activity, the flight crew make the plane climb and fly at an unusually high altitude reserved for military craft. In addition, Jay and Reeva notice that the plane is heading westbound instead of eastbound, and they begin to worry that a hijacking situation is transpiring. It is so suspenseful!
What is the motivation for the hijacking situation? Which crew member is behind this? How are the teens going to save Cassie, who is suffering a severe allergic reaction to something, and try to get her proper medical attention? How will they try to obtain the firearm, which has been locked securely in the cargo bay below the cabin? How will they try to storm the cockpit and to take control of the plane? Should they use the parachutes and run the risk of jumping when the plane is flying at a lower altitude?
Such suspense...read Skyjacked to find out how it all ends!

[Sally Kruger]

Five private school students are headed home from a camping trip. They board the private jet owned by one of the student's parents and settle in for their four hour flight home to New York.

It doesn't take long for strange things to happen. The usual copilot has called in sick and has been replaced by a tiny, young pilot named Sofia. The chaperone for the trip is unusually quiet and impatient and not interested in chatting with the five teens.

Less than an hour into the flight, the daughter of the plane's owner becomes mysteriously ill. It seems to be an allergic reaction, but no one knows the cause. Despite efforts to treat her, she dies.

When the passengers discover the cockpit door is locked, speculations begin that the unknown substitute copilot may have taken over the plane. What is going on? Have terrorists targeted the students? Will there be a ransom demand? Is there a way for them to take over the plane and land it safely?

As the teens are struggling to make sense of their situation, a young intern is watching everything from the National Air Traffic Control Center in Virginia. Can she provide research information that will unlock the mystery of the hijacked plane and save the passengers or will she only be able to watch as events unfold and the plane either crashes or is shot down?

Author Paul Griffin takes readers on a thrill ride beginning on page one. The fast-paced action doesn't let up for a minute. SKYJACKED is a perfect example of a page-turner readers won't be able to put down.

[Bogdan Tatarinov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skyjacked is a novel with mixed emotions, complicated situations, fast-paced action, and critical thinking scenarios, which adds to the intensity and plot of the story. Paul Griffin chooses a handful of teens from different lives, different places, different families, and puts them all into the cabin of one private airline. By doing so, Paul successfully merges contrasted minds into on twisted plot. One of my favorite details about this book is the way Paul Griffin changes and alters between characters, adding a bit of confusion, but dramatic suspense on every page. With a cabin full of diverse thoughts and emotions, Paul Griffin successfully illustrates a complicated painting which keeps all his audience on the edge of their seat.

Skyjacked is a beautifully written novel that includes inputs from a variety of different points of view. With a motivated and gut-driven responder, eager to gain a connection to the students captured in the airline of death, the story keeps gaining momentum to a final reveal. With all odds against them, the students collaborate on every move. Down to only a couple minutes to disaster, the students manage to gain a connection to ground control and come up with an alternative in which they will eventually escape. Once things settle down a bit, the students attempt to slide back into their academic lives, but each one of them struggles to regain control of their previous lives. A group of students, a diverse family, unusual bonds, skyjacked combined it all and presented them the face of death.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 teens from an elite school in New York City are on a camping trip in Idaho before sophomore year starts. They are accompanied by Cassie's security detail and her dad's private pilots. They are supposed to be headed home in the family jet, but they aren't headed the right direction. But who is responsible for the hijacking and what are their goals?

This was a quick, intense read. The action never lets up. I really liked that a few of the chapters were from the perspective of a teen girl interning for NATIC (the government branch in charge of tracking plans and responding when they go off track). The 5 teens in the plane are very different and from diverse backgrounds (based on the names, 1 is Indian American, 1 is Korean American, 4 of the kids are from money and 1 is a scholarship kid). In some ways this reads like a B scifi or disaster movie in that the death count starts fairly early and climbs throughout the book so you aren't sure if anyone is going to survive. It keeps the reader guessing and the intensity up. I was quite pleasantly surprised by how clean this was. Yes, there are deaths but they aren't described much at all. And there's absolutely no swearing. Hand this to reluctant readers, suspense/action fans, and those looking for clean teen reads.

Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content beyond a small kiss. There are several deaths, some in disturbing ways but there is very little gore or blood described.

[Sarai · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because it's not the kind where all the characters stay safe. I wouldn't go so far as to call it realistic, but the fact that some of the characters don't make it made it more intense. It reminded me of another book I read recently, Run, Hide, Fight Back by April Henry. Good book for a school visit.

Book description:
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?

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Five teens are trapped on a private plane as they are returning from an end of the summer camping trip. Who is responsible? Is it the pilot? The chaperone? Or is it one of the teens? The story takes the reader on a flight full of dips and dives while the clues unfold. Is the scheme personal, political, or just a random attack? All the characters have something to lose, and something to gain.

Cassie, Tim, Emily, Brandon, and Jay are friends and classmates at The Hartwell Academy. Cassie’s father owns the plane, and the pilot, Tony, has been with the family for as long as Cassie can remember. The newcomers to the group are Jay, scholarship student, Sofia, the substitute co-pilot, and Reeva, the chaperone. Are they along on the trip as an innocent bystander, or are they behind the hijacking?

Filled with a healthy dose of drama and suspense, Skyjacked will have the reader glued to their seat as the passengers unravel the mystery. The teens on the plane struggle to decide which adult to trust, as each one exhibits reasons to believe, and suspect, their story. In this fast-paced work, Griffin provides the reader just enough information to piece together their own case for, or against, the teens and the adults.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Five kids from an exclusive private school are on their way back from a camping trip on a private plane owned by one girl's parent. But when the plane is hijacked by the copilot, they don't know if they'll make it home.

The action was good and the suspense held up here through the entire book. I didn't love the ending, but it was fine.

I've mentioned before that my daughter does the Reading Bowl at her high school. Well, they released next year's list and this is my first intentional read from it (two books I had previously read). Last year, I had a big issue with the lack of diversity in the books. I do t know if this year's list will be better, but I can tell you that there's almost zero diversity here. One if the five kids' last name is Singh. That's about as much as you get in this one. They're all cisgender and straight.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to @kidlitexchange for this free review copy which has made me want to RUN out and buy every Paul Griffin book written for my middle schoolers!!!!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Skyjacked is an adventure story that hooked me from the beginning. Five friends and their security detail board their private flight home from a camping trip. All is well until suddenly it’s not. The security starts acting weird, the pilot locks the cockpit, the sun is on the wrong side of the plane... they’ve been hijacked.
•
Loved the many perspectives in this book, the teen mental angst, the suspect, all of it! Definitely will be booktalking this one as soon as it’s delivered!!

[Libby Ames · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cassie, Tim, Emily, and Jay are flying home from a camping trip on Cassie’s family’s private jet. But soon after take off, the kids notice they are flying in the wrong direction. The cockpit is locked and no one knows what is going on. Suddenly none of them know exactly who to trust or how they will survive the situation.

This high action adventure is a quick read that I finished in one afternoon. It is a perfect book to capture the attention of reluctant readers as well as those that love to read. The story switches between the different teens points of view and makes the reading engaging and real.

Recommended ages--12 and up

[Laura Nungester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action packed and well developed. The characters are interesting and with enough familiarity that their unique circumstances and personalities are relatable. The book reads as fast as the plot moves. Literally read it in one day. I couldn’t put it down. Great book for reluctant or avid readers. Told from the perspectives of the characters the reader is drawn into the story. I found myself needing to see the characters through to the end. I couldn’t make them wait until tomorrow, I had to be there with them and it had to end today, I owed it to them. Definitely a must read.

[Margie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spine-tingling, heart pounding thriller of a roller-coaster ride except this is an airplane. Six teens from a private high school in NYC and their chaperone are returning from a camping adventure when they realize their private jet, owned by the father of one of the teens is heading west, not east. One of the regular pilots had called in sick so there is one regular, well-known pilot along with one substitute. The teens become suspicious, not sure who to trust, which story to believe. Then people start dying...

[Mason Wagoner · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read at best. The characters were alright, some were quite compelling, while others were bland. Unfortunately, the compelling characters with motives and character development are killed off quickly, which leaves us to deal with boring characters for most of the book. This also results in the fact that we no longer care about the rest of the cast, because the characters we were interested in are no longer a part of the story, and the ending, which is supposed to have a lot of emotional impact, has little to none. Other than this flaw, this was a pretty good book.

[Terry Maguire · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast page-turner that middle grade readers will devour in one sitting. Five friends who go to an elite prep school are out west hiking and are scheduled to fly back to NY on a private plane and notice that they plane is heading in the wrong direction. Cassie, one of the five friends, suddenly falls ill and the friends slowly realize that they've been high-jacked. I wish the writing had been stronger (would have rated 4 stars then)- but the suspense is sustained and the plot keeps on twisting. Great choice of a hook book!

[Jaymie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, fast moving suspense story. There's not a lot of depth to the characters in this - the focus is on the action and the danger. But it was compelling - I finished it in one sitting. I had some practical questions that I won't post because of spoiler issues, but overall the whole story was so entertaining, I could set most of those questions aside and just enjoy the book. If you enjoy fast-paced suspense, don't miss this one. (Violence)

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am usually a fan of survival novels, where the main character or characters must fight against all odds to survive. Skyjacked did not push the usual buttons for me, as the action seemed to exist only to move the plot along. Some of the scenarios in which the teens find themselves are completely unrealistic and I did not find the novel to be all that credible. For these reasons, I would be hesitant to recommend Skyjacked to other readers.