Race for the Escape by Christopher Edge - ADVISABLE

Race for the Escape by Christopher Edge, 176 pages. Delacorte Press (Random House Children’s), 2022. $17.

Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE, MS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Ami likes puzzles, so she’s excited to try this escape room place her dad found and solve puzzles with a team. The theme is to find the Answer and save the world, which sounds like fun, until the first room catches on fire. It doesn’t really feel like a game anymore.

The escape rooms were vague in directions and solutions, and a lot of things didn’t feel right as Ami kept going room to room. Edge built up to the conclusion – and the twist! – well, but the vagueness continued through the last page. The hope is for readers to realize that, like Ami, we can find the Answer and help save the world – like Edge has written Ami’s story more for inspiration and empowerment than for entertainment.

Ami is implied white, though the depiction of her on the cover is not definitive. Adjoa is described as having “dark brown” skin (and the cover backs up the description), Oscar is implied white, and Ibrahim’s and Min’s races are undefined. The violence rating is for blood and death.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen