Set in the mid to late 1930's and beginning of the 1940's, Cloudmaket tells the story of some of the most exciting times in US history through the eyes of a young boy/man and his older, wiser, more experienced cousin, who is all of 18 when she joins the story. The writing is superb, there is no other word for it. I quickly became engrossed in the life and times of these rural characters as they spend their lives trying to escape gravity and fly. There is a side story that includes some extra excitement that I loved too. This is like no other book Ive read recently. My reading circle is going to love it!!!

Montana 1937. Houston "Huck" Finn is obsessed with flying airplanes. He has already built a glider which he takes up late one night, and he is for sure hooked. He and his buddy find a man drowned in a creek. The man is wearing a very rare Lindy watch. Huck hides the watch, and tries to figure out the mystery surrounding it. His cousin, Annelise, is sent to live with Huck's family to keep her out of trouble, and she, too, has a Lindy watch, given to her by her boyfriend. She has also had a few flying lessons. Huck and his dad live in town part of the time; his mother remains on the ranch, only rarely coming to town. We catch glimpses of rural Montana high school, the power of a Pentecostal revival in town. Huck's plane building gets a boost from McKee, a welder and machinist who comes to town from Utah. Annelise manages to find her own trouble. Meanwhile, a crime ring becomes very interested in Huck, Annelise, and the Lindy watch.
A great coming-of-age story, combined with characters who saw a long ways beyond their Montana homes.

another I just didn't get to. I wish I had all the time in the world to sit and ready books, but I have to work!
This one sounds like an incredible story with a heavily literary tone.
Right now in the summer time, I lean towards lighter rom com/women's lit. So I'm going to have to cut this one form the list and not read. I get stressed if my TBR pile is too large.

A highly entertaining, well written and fascinating books that brought me back in time and made me love the characters.
Excellent character and plot development, good storytelling and a vivid historical background.
It's highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Cloud maker is a beautifully written book about a past that is romanticized without being too unbelievable. The world is fascinated by flight. Every character has something to add to this obsession. Throw in a coming of age story as teenage friends come upon a dead body and have to deal with the repercussions of that, and you have something that could become a classic look at the time.

Malcolm Brooks’ Cloudmaker is a wild romp of a novel reminiscent of Huck Finn but with some elements even Mark Twain wouldn’t have dared include. The story opens with teenage Houston “Huck” Finn‘s first disastrous but funny attempt to soar through the Montana skies in a homemade glider. Within pages, he runs into two friends, who have been fishing and convince him to go with them to check out something suspicious they have spotted in the river but been unable to get close enough to identify.. Is it a large tractor inner tube or a black-suited body? How does their effort to identify it lead to a chase scene that seems like something out of a Keystone Kops or Buster Keaton movie? What does Houston pocket from the scene that he will later regret?

It is 1937--a decade since Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic. Amelia Earhart has taken to the air in her attempt to fly around the world. Having burned his failed glider, Houston has determined to build a plane although he doesn’t know how to fly. While his father quietly encourages his son’s creative ventures, both conceal his projects from his frail, conservative, and highly devout mother. Eighteen-year-old cousin Annelise arrives by train from California with her free mind and rebellious ways, sent by her own conservative mother to a place where she may get into less trouble, especially under Aunt Gloria’s watchful eye. Conveniently, privileged Annelise has taken flying lessons.

Amidst the Great Depression and increasing rumors of trouble in Europe, adventuresome but naive Houston faces temptation after temptation as he learns to dance, is confronted by friends with bootlegged alcohol, and falls for a girl in his class and for his older cousin Annelise. However, theirs is an environment not only of temptations, but also of conflicting religious fervor and restrictions—an environment of jitterbug, swing dance, and carnivals, but also of tent revival meetings and belief in Original Sin and the Second Coming.

As the story moves forward, it also moves backwards. One by one, Malcolm Brooks introduces his characters’ amazing backstories, revealing the forces that shaped them into the people they are.

Cloudmaker is an adventure story. As such, it misses little; it even includes sharpshooters and menacing gangsters. However, don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s only an adventure story. This isn’t a book to skim although I’ll admit to skimming—but not skipping--a few of the racier scenes. Like Huck Finn, this is also a novel of ideas and should be read carefully.

Thanks to NetGalley, Grove Atlantic, and Malcolm Brooks for providing an advance reader copy.

It is 1937 and the world is crazy about Lindbergh. I loved the lyrical language of the book and Huck, the plane loving kid who figures out how to make a glider. Along with his cousin, Annelise who comes to visit his family in rural Montana for the summer, discover physical love. The most fun part is where Huck and some of his friends take on some bad guys and how they got the Model A engine for the plane. While not as engaging as the Montana writings of Ivan Doig, its an enjoyable book to read.

It's 1937 and Annelise has been sent to her aunt's house in Montana, Huck Finn is building airplanes, and a gangster has ended up dead in a local waterway. Brooks has packed several elements into this intriguing novel of teens seeking their futures even as the adults in their lives are seeking something else. This is evocative of the time, complete with Aimee Semple McPherson and Amelia Earhart. A watch on the body of the dead man ended up being a plot element for a mystery which felt like moe than the novel needed- I would have been perfectly happy without it. That said, I liked the characters, each of whom offers their POV, and the setting is wonderful. Anyone interested in small planes will appreciate the details. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A good read for fans of literary fiction.

I received an electronic ARC of this wonderful novel from Netgalley, Malcolm Brooks, and Grove Press. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition of and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. Malcolm Brooks writes a compelling story with rounded, wholesome characters and brings us to the troubled times in the mid-1930s with touches of both reality and hope.

Houston Finn - labeled 'Huck' by his schoolmates - has an excellent mechanical mind and a love for the whole concept of flying that has shaped his life in small-town Montana. Before his Junior year in high school, he built - and flew - a glider from plans available by mail - the 1932 Flying and Glider Manual. The glider flew only long enough to break out windows in the local drug store, but Houston was able to figure out the problems inherent in the design, and aim higher - to a plane. The family owns a small ranch, but his father also has a mechanical repair shop in downtown Billings, and Houston stayed in town during the week for school. His mother stayed at the ranch except for church. Houstons plans are kept secret from everyone but his father, Roy, because of his mother's frailty and a running feud Houston seems to have with the son of the local law. Enter his cousin Annelise, exiled to her Aunt Gloria's care to finish her senior year after a real clash of spirit with her own mother, and already with the knowledge and experience of airplane piloting, though she is not yet licensed. What could go wrong?

This is an excellent novel, well versed in 1930s lore from politics to Amelia Earhart's last flight to church revival tents and the growth of the Mormon church. This is a story that will warm your heart and keep you up late. Brooks is an author I will follow.

I am not exactly sure what I expected but this one did not pull me in. I started it three times and got 50% in and finally called it quits. This might be considered a young adult genre but the sex scenes should have ruled that out. It appears to be a coming of age story of several high school friends that have come upon a dead body whom had a cool watch and a cousin that has come to visit under questionable circumstances. I kept waiting to get to the height of the story about their flying, the building of their plane or the mystery of the dead person but it kept us in the perils of young puberty way to long. I am sure many will love this tale, unfortunately it wasn't me.
I thank Atlantic Grove and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC for my unbiased opinion. 3 stars.

Thank you Malcolm Brooks and NetGalley for providing this ARC, which will be published March 9, 2021.

A somewhat too vibrant teenage girl is sent to live with her aunt’s family in a small 1920s Montana town. Annalise is a trained pilot, having taken lessons for a couple of years. All the USA is crazy about Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart. Huck, her “dern” boy cousin has been secretly building an airplane with the help of a shop assistant hired by his father. The characters are fully formed and believable for that time and place. There’s a lot of information a piloting a small homemade plane. The plot is well woven.

The summer of 1937 in America- dark clouds are already forming in Europe and the United States has their share of clouds, too. It is the time of the Great Depression, certainly a storm cloud, but the sun still shines through, particularly on Aimee Semple McPherson and Amelia Earhart. For fourteen-year-old Houston “Huck” Finn, it is a hot summer and a summer that opens the door to adulthood for him.

“Cloudmaker” is a dense, lyrical look at rural life in Montana. In many ways, this is a family saga as the author takes plenty of time to introduce us to the Finn family with close-up backstories of Huck’s parents, his cousin Annelise who visits for the summer and the new mechanic at the family mechanic shop. We see the “old” America of our folklore- strong, independent, determined, hardworking and religious people. We experience the national pride for Amelia Earhart. And we also view the newer America- one of invention and industry and new values and morals.

“Huck” is an endearing character. He is keen on flight and airplanes and we hang out with him in the mechanic shop’s workroom as he first builds a glider, and then with the help of Annelise and the mechanic, he builds an airplane. People back then were also resourceful and it’s a great story as to how they obtained the Model A motor for the plane.

Huck and his buddies take on some “bad guys” and Huck also begins to learn about love. Huck has the whole long, hot summer to ponder his life. Little does he know that the European cloud will soon engulf his world. Annelise and the mechanic also expand their horizons.

I found this to be an emotionally touching and interesting story. It is long and detailed, so plan to read it when you have time to read slowly and think. Thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Grove Press for an advanced digital review copy. This is my honest review.

Cloudmakers is a good story with well-written characters. It will be a great book for people who enjoy historical type fiction and books about adventure and inventing.

Pretty good overall. A nice story with a good plot, and well written characters. This includes some adventure and mystery and some drama. Literary fiction fans may enjoy this most. 3.5 stars rounded. up.

Thanks very much for the ARC for review!!

A coming-of-age story with plenty of adventure. However, it did feel quite long at times, with chapters dedicated to the character's backstories. I understand how it added to the richness of the story, but there were times when I wanted it to meander less and get back to the story at hand.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.