First in the Leviathan series.
This is World War I as never seen before. The story begins the same: on June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife are assassinated, triggering a sequence of alliances that plunges the world into war. But that is where the similarity ends. This war, however, won't be waged with mustard gas or in trenches; Aleksander's Great War is one split down the middle of two factions: the Clankers and the Darwinists. The Clankers depend on mechanics and steam power, man-made machines with legs that mimic animals and firepower that rivals the creative weaponry and biotechnology of their rivals. The Darwinists are inspired by Charles Darwin and his Theory of Evolution. In Leviathan, the mystery of DNA --brought forward a few decades for the sake of plot--has been discovered and manipulated to create crossbreeds of animals and huge, living dirigibles as part of their military power. Deryn Sharp--disguised as a boy so she can fly the floating airships and Alek Ferdinand--heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne, are both 15-year old but very new to the ways of the worlds they've been thrust into. Most of the story is from both their separate points of view until Deryn's ship crashes near Alek's hide-away in the mountains.
Once their stories intertwine the story gets more interesting as Deryn teases Alek about his irrational fears and disgusts over the conglomeration of living bodies that make up the Leviathan; Alek makes sure Deryn sees the advantage of machines. In between their banter is the truth of the situation: the survival of everything dear to them depends on teamwork; biotechnology is as necessary as gears, metalwork, and engines. Cooperation is the key to success.
Many interesting characters and since this is so obviously first in the series it will be interesting to see how everyone develops. It is an intriguing concept written in some historical truth but goes much further with a cyberpunk aspects. Looks like this will be a trilogy so looking forward to the rest of the books - maybe look for on CD.