First published 2016
Hugo Ballard can barely believe his luck. The eleven-year-old is soaring across the Atlantic Ocean aboard the Hindenburg, the massive German zeppelin that rivals the Titanic in size. His parents and four-year-old sister Gertie share his excitement as they make the four-thousand-mile journey in the greatest flying machine ever constructed. But as the airship prepares to land in New Jersey, disaster strikes without warning. A tremendous blast tears through the Hindenburg and flames engulf the craft. In just thirty-two seconds, the magnificent zeppelin becomes a death trap. Hugo loses sight of his family in the chaos and must fight his way through smoke and fire to reach safety. The ship is doomed, and Hugo's survival hangs by a thread as one of America's most devastating accidents unfolds around him.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, airships
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: coming-of-age, survival
Setting: Atlantic Ocean, New Jersey
Period: 1930s
112 pages · Paperback · Scholastic Paperbacks