The Race to Chimney Rock

In this exciting “choose your own trail” book, Jesse Wiley introduces a new generation of readers to making difficult choices to survive the Oregon Trail. Inspired by the classic Oregon Trail computer game, the book asks readers to make decisions related to when they should start on the trail, what they should pack, whether it’s safe to ford a river, and more. The right choices will lead readers successfully to Oregon; the wrong ones could result in death!

The book is often more focused on providing readers with historical information about the Oregon Trail and with survival tips related to plants, medicine, geography, etc. than it is on providing an interesting narrative. Most of the story simply involves the characters moving from one landmark to another. However, if one focuses on the game play and the challenge of making it to Oregon without mishap, Race to Chimney Rock is an engaging experience that will leave readers eager to continue their journey in the next three books (provided they don’t die of dysentery first).