Early Book Review: "Chase Against Time" by Steve Reifman

Chase Against Time by Steve Reifman is a children's chapter book due for re-release on March 15 2012. Chase Against Time follows one forth grader, Chase Manning, who wants to play in the honor's orchestra in the next school year. However, the award winning music program is at risk, and can be saved if a charity auction for a special cello can earn enough money. When that cello disappears from its case everything is at risk. Before he knows it, Chase is on the case, in search for the culprit. Is the thief a fellow student, the angry coach, or someone completely unexpected. Friendships are put to the test and surprises abound as Chase investigates. Can he solve the mystery and still find time to practice his audition piece for the now at risk orchestra?

I think that Chase Against Time is a fun and thought provoking book for elementary school students. This chapter book was an exciting read, with surprises around every corner. But it also touched on some important topics such trust, financial difficulties in schools, and the fact that there is almost always more to a person than we see on the surface. Characters throughout the book are shown to be more complex than anyone might have thought. I especially like the development of the coach, who can appear an angry villain in some moments of the book. The only thing that troubled me was the amount of freedom Chase had to roam free in the school, which even as a trusted honor student I do not picture any fourth grader having. However, some schools do offer more freedom than the ones I graduated from so there very well could be schools that do allow that much autonomy to trusted students.

I recommend Chase Against Time to elementary school students, teachers, parents, and those that enjoy children's literature. I thought there were good messages about responsibility, working hard to reach your goals, and how everyone has more to them than you might see on the surface. The mystery was well done, and I was even a little surprised at the final resolution. I am looking forward to seeing this book continue on in a series.