Leviathan

Westerfeld, S. (2009). Leviathan. NY: Simon Pulse

The main characters Alexsander Hapsburg, an Austro-Hungarian prince, and Deryn Sharp, a common girl disguised as a boy, begin separate journeys in this fictional novel.  Alexsander is running from his own people who have turned on him, and Deryn is pretending to be a boy in order to fulfill her dream of joining the British Air Service.  When Deryn's ship crashes near Alexsander's hideout, he saves her life.  Their two groups decide to combine their technologies, the machines and living beasts, to escape from the German attackers.  Meanwhile, Deryn discovers Alex's secret of being a prince and discovers she may be starting to have romantic feelings for him. In the end of this first book of the series, both groups are in route to Constantinople with Alex guarding giant eggs that will hatch into some unknown species.  I think this book is great for middle school age boys and girls. Having dual main characters of a boy and a girl are a major strength of this book, for it teaches each gender  that boys and girls can triumph when faced with adverse situations. As psychologists have stated, books serve as portals for students experiencing similar emotions. For example, Alex and Deryn were coping with the recent loss of their parent or parents.  Unfortunately, many student readers experience the loss of a family member and can relate with the characters' emotions in the book.