Leviathan - Scott Westerfeld

It is the cusp of World War I, and all the European powers are arming up. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition. The British Darwinists employ fabricated animals as their weaponry. Their Leviathan is a whale airship, and the most masterful beast in the British fleet.

Aleksandar Ferdinand, prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battle-torn Stormwalker and a loyal crew of men.

Deryn Sharp is a commoner, a girl disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.

With the Great War brewing, Alek's and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way...taking them both aboard the Leviathan on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure. One that will change both their lives forever.

I picked this book up from the library on a whim, I vaguely remember reading a review that was in favor of the book, but it'd been a while.
I wasn't sure what to expect, having not read any steampunk books before, but I was excited to try one!
I love hoe it's real facts mixed with complete and utter fiction, it makes for so many possibilities!
The only real "problem" I had with this book was one group of people were called "Darwinists".  But it wasn't the typical kind of evolutionist that you'd associate with the Theory of Evolution. It was more about nonexistent fabricated impossibilities, with only a few of Darwin's ideas tacked on for extra measure.It didn't bother me too much because of the sheer impossibility of it all, but as a Creationist, and my belief and trust in the Bible as the ultimate authority, I am openly against the Theory of Evolution. So I just read this book as I do any other fictional book.
Every two chapters the point of view changed from Alek to Deryn.  They are both such great characters that I truly enjoyed them equally!
While there was not romance between the two in this book with Deryn disguised as a boy named, Dylan, I suspect there may be a little in the next book.
The book also included some very well drawn pictures, at least one in each chapter. I thought I'd outgrown picture books, but it seems I was wrong! The drawings added so much tot the book, made it easier to understand what was being described. There's so much detail packed into just one I'd find myself staring at it for several moments.
This book surprised me by how easily my mind slipped into the story. Very well written, not at all boring, and all around a pretty awesome book! I'm looking forward to borrowing the next one from the library!
Title - Leviathan
Author - Scott Westerfeld
Series/Trilogy Title - The Leviathan Trilogy
Book in Series/Trilogy - #1
Pages - 440
Type of Book - Steampunk
Website - http://scottwesterfeld.com/