Boneshaker

This adventure tale falls into the growing steampunk genre (a genre that's hard to pin down). Boneshaker is set in an alternate history. In this tale, the American Civil War has dragged on into the late 1880s, the Klondike Goldrush has happened earlier and to a larger degree, and Seattle (Washington Territory) is home to tens of thousands of settlers. Due to an experimental earth-drilling invention that went awry, a vein of gas (known as the Blight) has infected downtown Seattle so that it had to be walled off from the Outskirts. Within the walled city are roaming bands of rotters (think zombies), and some people crazy enough to venture inside and eke out a living among the rotters and Blight gas. When 15-year-old Zeke sneaks into the city, his mother, Briar, heads in after him and then things get really interesting. Most steampunk stories include airships and this story is no exception. Among the many interesting characters are piratical airship captains and crew. Makes for a very fun, very cool story.