Grade 7 Up--Eoin Colfer turns his special brand of humor and adventure to detailing the amazing life and times of young Conor Broekhart--born in a hot air balloon over Paris and thereafter destined to use his fascination with flight to save his parents, recapture a kingdom, and win the hand of a princess. John Keating's boyish voice and slight Scottish accent give this swashbuckling adventure story (Hyperion, 2008) just the right combination of realism and fantasy. His narrative skill captures the personalities of both main and supporting characters--from the consummate cold-hearted villain Marshall Hugo Bonvilain to the dashing and cavalier Victor Vigny. Older listeners will relish this entertaining coming-of-age story whose themes of friendship and betrayal, love and hate, and courage and fear play out amidst breathless scenes of action and violence.

One dark night on the island of Great Saltee, fourteen-year-old Conor is framed for a terrible crime he didn't commit. Thrown into prison by the dastardly Hugo Bonvilain, Conor is trapped in a seaswept dungeon and branded a traitor. He must escape and clear his name; he wants his old life back - his family, his friends...and his princess.

Conor knows there is only one way out. It's an impossible task, which has never been done before. But Conor is determined to do it.He'll have to fly.

Prologue

Part 1: Broekhart

Chapter 1: The Princess and the Pirate

Chapter 2: LaBrosse

Chapter 3: Isabella

Chapter 4: Treason and Plot

Part 2: Finn

Chapter 5: LittleSaltee

Chapter 6: In the Middle of Wynter

Chapter 7: The Devil's Fork

Chapter 8: ConorFinn

Chapter 9: Light at the End

Chapter 10: Unlucky Fourteenth

Chapter 11: To the Queen Her Crown

Part 3: Airman

Chapter 12: Angel or Devil

Chapter 13: The Soldier's Return

Chapter 14: Heads Together

Chapter 15: Home

Chapter 16: Snakes in the Grass

Chapter 17: Tangled Web

Chapter 18: Heavier Than Air

Chapter 19: Time Apart