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A review by merer
Chasing Secrets by Gennifer Choldenko
3.0
Pros
*A very entertaining historical fiction novel.
*Unusual subjects-A modern recurrence of Bubonic Plague, San Francisco pre-1906 quake, women's rights, and Chinese-American life in the early 20th century.
*Wide Appeal-The story includes hints of romance, action and derring-do, is based on true historical events, and provides readers with a Downton Abbey-esque window into the daily lives of history's ultra-wealthy.
Cons
*Meandering plot-There was a lot going on here--Lizzie+Gus, Lizzie+Noah, Lizzie+friendships, illegal street fighting, Bubonic Plague, early 20th century newspaper wars, racism and genocide, early 20th century medical technique, proper etiquette for women, women's rights, etc... I didn't feel satisfied with the amount of coverage any of these topics got, and I wish the book had been about 100 pages longer so that we could have delved a little deeper into them.
*Lizzie-Not my favorite character. She was a self-important know-it-all who whined about not having any friends, but then didn't reciprocate much when they invited her out. Sometimes, being a brilliant pest can come off as oddly charming, but there just weren't enough things I liked about Lizzie to balance her out.
*
*A very entertaining historical fiction novel.
*Unusual subjects-A modern recurrence of Bubonic Plague, San Francisco pre-1906 quake, women's rights, and Chinese-American life in the early 20th century.
*Wide Appeal-The story includes hints of romance, action and derring-do, is based on true historical events, and provides readers with a Downton Abbey-esque window into the daily lives of history's ultra-wealthy.
Cons
*Meandering plot-There was a lot going on here--Lizzie+Gus, Lizzie+Noah, Lizzie+friendships, illegal street fighting, Bubonic Plague, early 20th century newspaper wars, racism and genocide, early 20th century medical technique, proper etiquette for women, women's rights, etc... I didn't feel satisfied with the amount of coverage any of these topics got, and I wish the book had been about 100 pages longer so that we could have delved a little deeper into them.
*Lizzie-Not my favorite character. She was a self-important know-it-all who whined about not having any friends, but then didn't reciprocate much when they invited her out. Sometimes, being a brilliant pest can come off as oddly charming, but there just weren't enough things I liked about Lizzie to balance her out.
*