Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

"In the opening scene, 13-year-old Jimmy fantasizes about winning it all at the X Games skateboarding championship: a decisive victory, a kiss from his supermodel girlfriend, and a multimillion-dollar sponsorship deal. The first-person novel that follows is only slightly more realistic. Flying to California with his younger sister, Julia, and two skateboarding buddies, Jimmy befriends 79-year-old Mildred, who is traveling to a knitting convention. When the plane is hijacked and a flight attendent killed, the passengers overtake the four terrorists and crash-land the plane in a Canadian forest. Only six survive: the boys, Julia, Mildred, and a beautiful stewardess. Relying on Girl Scout Julia's skills, they struggle to survive, but also find the time and tools to construct a half pipe. Mixing moments of humor with swashbuckling bravado, gruesome deaths, survival tips, and questions about God's existence, the novel never focuses enough to get its footing. Several elements of the story, beginning with the slogan-shouting terrorists, are less than convincing. Still, readers willing to suspend disbelief will find this a fast-paced adventure keyed to today's headlines."--"Phelan, Carolyn" Copyright 2007 Booklist

Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Jimmy, his sister, and two skateboarding pals are traveling to California when terrorists hijack their plane. With the help of a flight attendant and a seventy-nine-year-old woman, the children defeat the terrorists then survive the resulting crash in the Canadian wilderness. Readers may not warm up to the shallow characters, but the story offers plenty of action. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In this serio-comic adventure from veteran author Gutman, a boy and his friends survive a plane crash, but must find a way to stay alive in the woods until they're rescued. Jimmy, a skateboarding fanatic, stands up to terrorist hijackers on a cross-country flight and later to his friends, but has to listen to his little sister, who actually knows something about wilderness survival. Mix in a beautiful young flight attendant and a sparky elderly lady for fun. The narrative features nice suspense but comes across more as a comedy, as the group never seems threatened by their wilderness experience. Plenty of adolescent humor and well-placed deus ex machina plot manipulations easily overcome the minor difficulties of making fire and finding water, food and shelter. If the humor sometimes seems out of place, it's still perfectly pitched to the middle-school crowd. A great choice for reluctant readers. (Fiction. 10-14) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

School Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Gr 4-6-Thirteen-year-old Jimmy, his little sister Julia, and his two best friends embark on a cross-country flight to stay with family in California, where the boys hope to get sponsorship for their skateboarding club. Jimmy helps an elderly knitter with her bag, and learns she is part of a group who is traveling to a knitting convention. When terrorists charge the cockpit and take over the plane, the boys leap into action, killing the hijackers with the help of the women and their knitting needles. They then discover that the pilots are dead and that the plane is out of fuel, and when they crash, the real story begins-survival in the deep forest. It may be highly improbable that the only survivors are the kids, the elderly knitter, and the flight attendant, but the tale remains enjoyable as the silly banter is preserved and the can-do attitude of the youngsters is easy to appreciate. The boys learn from the two adults and Julia, whose girl-scout knowledge gains everyone's admiration, and they make it seem like almost dying in a fiery plane crash can be kind of fun. A true adventure book, with high-spirited and fundamentally good boys as the central characters, Getting Air should find a wide audience.-John Leighton, Brooklyn Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.