Chasing Alliecat by Rebecca Fjelland Davis is the story of Sadie, Allie and Joe, three teenagers who live to mountain bike. Sadie's parent's have a strange relationship, and after their divorce, Sadie's mom sends Sadie and her sister to stay with Sadie's aunt so that she can go to Egypt to do archeological research with her ex-husband. Joe comes to stay with his uncle, (the husband of Sadie's aunt) because he is having a hard time adjusting to life without his twin. He's a little... damaged, and his parents are hoping a change of scenery would do him good. Allie is a mystery. She lives in this tiny Minnesota town and she's hurting.
Sadie is still a beginner as far as mountain biking goes, and she has decided that this summer she is going to start competing in actual races. Joe has raced a few times before, and is above the beginner stage, but still has a lot to learn (like smoking is really bad for your lungs). And Allie? Allie's just about a professional. She competes in the expert class races, and she wins. Regularly. I'm about to make a comment that is going to prove I think about things too much, but I felt a little bit like their level of biking expertise directly correlates to how bad the inner demons come at them. I liked that. To me, it's a subtle way of being able to let the pain and the confusion onto the page. Maybe no one else saw it. Maybe there wasn't really anything about it for me to see. That's okay with me. Pain translates differently for different people.
The main complaint I have with this book, is that Allie was just a little bit too. Too mysterious, too tortured, too aloof, just too much. Because there was just so much to Allie, some aspects of her character fell a little flat for me, and left me thinking that it was included to be included, because it makes for a more dramatic story. I didn't feel like all of it needed to be in there, or if all of it felt essential to the author, some of the issues could have been fleshed out and addressed a little better. Many of them, the way they were handled felt a little like an afterthought. It's vague, I know, but I don't want to spoil anything.
Anyway, other than that, I really enjoyed this book. I thought Sadie and Joe were both awesome characters, and I liked watching them adjust to each other, and get to know each other better. The characters, especially Sadie and Joe are the real core of this story, and they made is believable for me. My favorite parts of the book focused on the biking and the racing. It makes me want to hop on a bike and start trekking all over rural Idaho. It's probably a good thing my bike needs to be tuned up after the long winter here... If I tried to ride even half-way as hardcore as these kids, it would probably kill me.;)
Overall, I genuinely enjoyed this book. It's a worthwhile story with solid characters who aren't afraid of their pain or their strengths. They do what they gotta do to survive and they keep their head above ground. It's a story worth reading full of characters worth knowing.
*Disclaimer: Received a copy through The Teen Book Scene, from the author, for an honest review.