Chasing AllieCat by Rebecca Fjelland Davis

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

Dumped with relatives in a small Minnesota town for the summer, Sadie Lester is relying on her mountain bike to save her from total boredom. Then she meets Allie, a spiky-haired off-road mountain biker who's training for a major race. Allie leads Sadie and Joe, a cute fellow cyclist, up and down Mount Kato, and the three become close friends. But the exhilarating rush comes to a halt when they find a priest in the woods, badly beaten and near death. After calling for help, Allie disappears from their lives.

As they search for Allie and try to find out why she left so suddenly, Sadie and Joe discover more about Allie's past, including her connection to the priest. Only on the day of the big race does Sadie finally learn the complete, startling truth about Allie—and the terrible secret that forced her into hiding.

Review:

It's as simple as this: Chasing AllieCat blew me away in the best way possible, and I have a very strong feeling it will do the same to many other YA book lovers out there, because this book simply has it all: strong characters, a mysterious plot that will keep the reader guessing to the very last page, romance, and plenty more!

Chasing AllieCat tells the story of Sadie, a girl who has officially been left in a Minnesota town along with her younger brother for the summer while their parents go to Africa. At first, Sadie fears that the summer will be boring with a capital B, because not only does Sadie's aunt want her to babysit her younger cousins for the majority of it, but she barley knows anyone besides her family. But everything changes the day Allie (aka AllieCat) comes into her life. Allie is like no one Sadie's meet before. She's fearless, witty, and strong, a girl you would want on your side no matter what. Better yet, Allie loves mountain biking as much if not more than Sadie. Soon enough, this summer is looking promising to Sadie, especially when a very cut and fellow cyclist named Joe lands on her radar. But with Allie comes secrets...secrets that could mean danger and death if Joe, Sadie, and Allie aren't careful enough. Though, when Allie goes missing, Sadie and Joe know something is terribly wrong, so off they go on a mission to save their lost friend, but will they before it's too late? More importantly, what exactly is Allie hiding from them? And will Sadie and Joe every get their chance at a summer romance? Only time will tell in this fast paced tale about how far two friends will go to save a friend that needs than more than they even know.

There is so much I love about this book and one of the things I love most is the characters.

First of all, main character Sadie is the perfect pick of a narrator of this story, because not only is she easy to relate to but she's  fearless, brave, and nonjudgmental, making her someone I liked from the start. Better yet, I loved reading about her friendship with Allie and Joe. Allie, Joe, and Sadie form such an incredible bond throughout the pages of Chasing AllieCat over their bad pasts (Allie and Joe mostly) and their love of mountain biking (all three), and best of all, these are three characters who managed to be their for each other time and time again, and constantly built their friendship up in a way that was believable, leaving this to be the best part of the book, no doubt about it. I also loved how Rebecca used the character's friendship to bring up several intriguing questions within the pages. Like, how far would you go to save a friend in need? More importantly would you be able to be there for someone even when the situation is something like you've never experienced before, something so bad that it makes you're stomach churn? It was very thought provoking and well done.

The plot and mysteries at this story's heart were even better. I loved how Rebecca Fjelland Davis constantly had the reader guessing about what exactly happened to Allie to whether or not Sadie and Joe would be able to find Allie to whether or not they all would be able to save the day before it was too late. All of these questions always kept me on my toes and guessing what would occur next.

Lastly, Rebecca Fjelland Davis proves herself to be a fantastic writer within the pages of this one. I couldn't get over how amazing of job she did creating the characters and the plot lines, and best of all, this story has left me craving more stories by her, because I have a feeling they'll be pretty great if Chasing AllieCat is any indicator.

In all, Chasing AllieCat is spectacular, thought provoking, and intense, a read that I just can't stop thinking about, and one I could never describe just how amazing it was. So, read this book. Buy it, borrow it, I don't care just find a way to get your hands on a copy. Because if I know one thing, it's that this book is simply fantastic, and I hope you feel the same once you read it!

Grade: A+

Chasing AllieCat is now out!

Source: Marissa at Flux. Thanks!