Chasing What Lies Ahead
Happy Sunday everyone! I apologize for posting so late, but I hope your morning started off with a good book in hand. Today I will be reviewing another stand-alone novel. This book is written by Gennifer Choldenko, the author of the Al Capone Does My Shirts elementary series. The novel I am reviewing today is called Chasing Secrets. This book was a greatly satisfying read. It was slow to read and quite boring in the beginning, but quickly picked up pace after the first few chapters. I thought that the plot was a very creative novel idea. So many different things were happening at once that I simply could not put it down in the end. It also seemed that Chasing Secrets is made up multiple genres such as historical fiction (I mean, obviously, it was taken place in the 1900’s), mystery, realistic fiction, action, and even a smidge of suspenseful thriller. With this being said, I would rate Chasing Secrets at 5 stars and recommend it for kids at the ages of 11 and up. I do feel that this book was geared more towards elementary students and not older teens. Reading this novel made me grateful for how good we have it going through the Covid-19 virus. As the main theme of Chasing Secrets is the bubonic plague, there are some big similarities with the past events and today’s present events. For example, cities having to be shut down and vaccines being made. I highly recommend this book to readers who have enjoyed suspenseful reads similar to The Detective’s Assistant, Moon Over Manifest, and Outrun the Moon.
Chasing Secrets is about a young girl named Lizzie who is nothing like the rest. Living in San Francisco in the year 1900 has its ups and down. The first cars are being driven and there are thoughts of mankind being able to fly up in the air. Lizzie wants to follow in her father’s footsteps as a doctor but is turned down because she is a girl (it was not common for woman to have occupations like doctors in during this time period). With murmurs floating around San Francisco about a quarantine in Chinatown and the disappearance of their beloved cook, Jing, Lizzie starts to worry. Forced to battle an upcoming Cotillion, her Aunt’s scolding of her unladylike behavior, and her own curiosity, Lizzie finds herself in a heap of trouble and action. Will she solve the mystery of her missing cook and a possible plague outbreak? Read to find out in Chasing Secrets!
Happy reading,
Evelyn Harrier
