Review + Giveaway: Ride for Rights by Tara Chevrestt

From the Back Cover:

In the summer of 1916 women do not have the right to vote, let alone be motorcycle dispatch riders. Two sisters, Angeline and Adelaide Hanson are determined to prove to the world that not only are women capable of riding motorbikes, but they can ride motorbikes across the United States. Alone.

From a dance hall in Chicago to a jail cell in Dodge City, love and trouble both follow Angeline and Adelaide on the dirt roads across the United States. The sisters shout their triumph from Pike’s Peak only to end up lost in the Salt Lake desert.

Will they make it to their goal of Los Angeles or will too many mishaps prevent them from reaching their destination and thus, hinder their desire to prove that women can do it?

My Thoughts:

Entertaining, educational, and good, clean fun! The story of the girls' journey across America is interspersed with entries in Angeline's diary and her comments on news headlines from the summer of 1916, and excerpts from news articles chronicling the girls' Ride for Rights--thanks to a quick-thinking young reporter named Joe (who happens to be quite handsome, looks dashing in a fedora, and has a thing for girls on motorbikes), the New York News picks up the girls' story and they become a media sensation as Joe's articles keep the country updated on their adventures.

The story is vibrant and lively and the historical details and period descriptions are excellent! There are quite a few topics covered, with the added challenge of portraying the differing cultures and values across a country as large as America, but the balance is just right here and I loved the references to music and fashion and entertainment. Both of the sisters have distinct personalities, and they are portrayed realistically. My sister and I are completely different in as many ways as we are exactly alike, and that dynamic can be hard to transfer to the page, but Tara does a great job of it here, and creates two worthy heroines in the process. There's a bit of a role reversal by the end too--at first Angeline comes across as the bolder, more independent sister and Adelaide is more cautious and subdued. It was fun to watch the sisters mature with style as they faced adversity and learned some painful lessons.

My only real quibble would be that I think the girls had it a little too easy. Yeah, they got into some tight spots, but someone always showed up just in time to save the day, or else circumstances were rigged rather conveniently for them to get themselves out of a mess. But because this is written with such an upbeat, positive vibe, and it is very clean, it would be a great read for young adults and middle graders, too. It's a charming and infinitely readable story of the women's rights movement, which doesn't get too much attention in fiction. It's well-written, colorful, and at times laugh-out-loud funny. Two thumbs up! In fact, with U.S. involvement in World War I looming, I'd kind of like to see what happens next for Adelaide, Angeline, and Joe...

My Rating:  4 Stars out of 5

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*Please note:  Though I received this book from the author, these are my unbiased thoughts and I was not compensated in any other way for reviewing this book.