Getting Air by Dan Gutman

Jimmy, David, and Henry are on their way to fame and fortune. They are flying to California where they hope to get sponsorships from skateboard companies. Unfortunately their plane is hijacked by terrorists. Feeling that they are the only people who could save everyone (almost all of the only other passengers on the plane are group of old ladies from a knitting club), the boys spring into action. They use Jimmy’s titanium skateboard and literally beat the terrorists to death. Unfortunately the terrorists have already killed the pilots and before they died, the pilots had jettisoned the majority of the fuel. After they crash into the Canadian wilderness, there are only six people on the plane left alive: Jimmy and his sister Julia, David, Henry, an airline attendant, and an old lady from the knitting club named Mrs. Herschel. Now the survivors must find food, shelter, and water as they struggle to hold on until help arrives. And if the opportunity to use the skateboard arives, so much the better.

There should be a sign on this book that reads: SUSPEND BELIEF. If you do that this is a fun read and certainly will appeal to boys. I cannot tell you the number of boys at my school who love skateboarding but hate to read -- finally I have something to offer them. I will certainly use it in my booktalks and I'm sure it will be popular at my school.