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The Oregon Trail #1
The Oregon Trail: The Race to Chimney Rock
Go west, young pioneer--your journey begins here! In this first leg of your trek on the Oregon Trail, you need to find your way to Chimney Rock--but not without unpredictable challenges ahead. This is the first installment of four books that will take you all the way to Oregon Territory--if you make the right choices.
In book one of this exciting choose-your-own-trail series, it's 1850 and your first goal is to get your family, covered wagon full of supplies, and oxen to Chimney Rock on time. But hurry--you'll need to make it through the rugged mountains before winter snow hits. Plus, there are wild animals, natural disasters, unpredictable weather, fast-flowing rivers, strangers, and sickness that will be sure to stand between you and your destination!
Which path will get you safely across the prairie? With twenty-two possible endings, choose wrong and you'll never make it to Chimney Rock on time. Choose right and blaze a trail that gets you closer to Oregon City!
In book one of this exciting choose-your-own-trail series, it's 1850 and your first goal is to get your family, covered wagon full of supplies, and oxen to Chimney Rock on time. But hurry--you'll need to make it through the rugged mountains before winter snow hits. Plus, there are wild animals, natural disasters, unpredictable weather, fast-flowing rivers, strangers, and sickness that will be sure to stand between you and your destination!
Which path will get you safely across the prairie? With twenty-two possible endings, choose wrong and you'll never make it to Chimney Rock on time. Choose right and blaze a trail that gets you closer to Oregon City!
160 pages, Paperback
First published September 4, 2018
48 people are currently reading
369 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 120 reviews
September 13, 2018
SO MUCH FUN! I DIED A BUNCH! JUST LIKE THE COMPUTER GAME!
May 13, 2019
1985's The Oregon Trail wasn't the only computer game to put you in a historical scenario and have you make life-or-death choices, but it's one of the best. The urgency of the narrative belies the game's rudimentary graphics, fully engaging one's imagination to trigger fear of failure. There's a real sense of calamity when an alert pops up that one of your oxen is injured or a child in your wagon team has died. This is what Houghton Mifflin Harcourt attempted to recreate beginning in 2018 with its Oregon Trail gamebooks, an homage to a computer game that lingered in pop culture zeitgeist for decades. Could author Jesse Wiley recapture the original feeling?
Like the Worst-Case Scenario Ultimate Adventure gamebooks, The Race to Chimney Rock includes a research primer at the back of the book and encourages studying it before heading out on the Oregon Trail. A pioneer in the 1850s United States needs to be informed in order to survive travel across hundreds of miles of frontier land. You, your parents, and your little siblings Hannah and Samuel are optimistic as you prepare to start toward the Oregon Territory from Independence, Missouri. Your home in Kentucky was fine, but Oregon promises free land and exciting opportunities. The road there is rough, but you're growing into a responsible young person, and your parents are ready to let you make some of the decisions. The first one is big: should the group of wagons you're traveling with depart from Independence in April, or May? Will you risk there not being enough grass in the early going to feed your oxen, or winter arriving before you reach your destination?
Myriad adventures await on the Trail. You might become friends with your wagon team's captain, Caleb, and his kids, or end up feuding with them. In packing your family's wagon, should you prioritize furniture or food, wagon repair items or luxury goods for trading? You'll meet Native American and white guides on the Trail, but who sincerely wishes to help and who is running a con job? Snakes and bears are serious threats, and running afoul of local Native Americans is another danger. Walking beside your full wagon for fifteen miles every day is exhausting, but you must reach your checkpoint, Chimney Rock, in a timely manner; a permissive rest schedule will put you too far off pace to recover, and you have hundreds of miles still to go after Chimney Rock. Success seems impossible at times, but you'll make it if your luck holds.
Only one story path gets you to Chimney Rock, so consider every decision carefully. Your family dreams of prospering in the Oregon Territory, but there are lovely valleys and small towns between Missouri and the West Coast; any of them would be a decent place to build a life. If the choice becomes either dying on the Trail or giving up on migration and settling in the Midwest, you might have to modify your dream. The Race to Chimney Rock is less evocative than the 1985 computer game, and the random results of some choices are frustrating, but the story has moments that reflect the chilling side of the original game; a graphic ending where your leg must be amputated is one of them. Imperfect as it is, I like this book, and will be back for episode two, Danger at the Haunted Gate.
Like the Worst-Case Scenario Ultimate Adventure gamebooks, The Race to Chimney Rock includes a research primer at the back of the book and encourages studying it before heading out on the Oregon Trail. A pioneer in the 1850s United States needs to be informed in order to survive travel across hundreds of miles of frontier land. You, your parents, and your little siblings Hannah and Samuel are optimistic as you prepare to start toward the Oregon Territory from Independence, Missouri. Your home in Kentucky was fine, but Oregon promises free land and exciting opportunities. The road there is rough, but you're growing into a responsible young person, and your parents are ready to let you make some of the decisions. The first one is big: should the group of wagons you're traveling with depart from Independence in April, or May? Will you risk there not being enough grass in the early going to feed your oxen, or winter arriving before you reach your destination?
Myriad adventures await on the Trail. You might become friends with your wagon team's captain, Caleb, and his kids, or end up feuding with them. In packing your family's wagon, should you prioritize furniture or food, wagon repair items or luxury goods for trading? You'll meet Native American and white guides on the Trail, but who sincerely wishes to help and who is running a con job? Snakes and bears are serious threats, and running afoul of local Native Americans is another danger. Walking beside your full wagon for fifteen miles every day is exhausting, but you must reach your checkpoint, Chimney Rock, in a timely manner; a permissive rest schedule will put you too far off pace to recover, and you have hundreds of miles still to go after Chimney Rock. Success seems impossible at times, but you'll make it if your luck holds.
Only one story path gets you to Chimney Rock, so consider every decision carefully. Your family dreams of prospering in the Oregon Territory, but there are lovely valleys and small towns between Missouri and the West Coast; any of them would be a decent place to build a life. If the choice becomes either dying on the Trail or giving up on migration and settling in the Midwest, you might have to modify your dream. The Race to Chimney Rock is less evocative than the 1985 computer game, and the random results of some choices are frustrating, but the story has moments that reflect the chilling side of the original game; a graphic ending where your leg must be amputated is one of them. Imperfect as it is, I like this book, and will be back for episode two, Danger at the Haunted Gate.
April 17, 2019
This was a fun blast to the past! I don't know how much you would enjoy it if you never played the original computer game, but it was enjoyable for me. Plus, I only died once!
Popsugar Challenge 2019: A choose-your-own-adventure book
Popsugar Challenge 2019: A choose-your-own-adventure book
November 7, 2020
A cut above the ordinary Choose Your Own Adventure Books. There are 22 possible endings to this one, but only one of those endings leads you to the next book in the series. Not all the other endings are bad, but only the right sequence of correct choices leads to the one possible result that allows your character's family to successfully continue the journey on the Oregon Trail.
November 25, 2020
Fun and educational. Definitely recommend.
May 2, 2019
I am a member of the Oregon Trail generation and fondly remember playing this in school many times. I wasn't particularly good at it, but I did manage to get to Oregon a few times without losing anyone or at least not too many people. Unfortunately I was not as talented at making my way through this book. Even after carefully reading the guide at the end, I made more mistaken choices than correct ones along the way. As expected from most 'you chose' style books there is little in the way of character development or depth to the plot. There were occasional moments where the setting was well described, but they were surprisingly infrequent and I did not experience the setting as much as I expected. It was fun, but not as much fun or as educational as the game, perhaps because of the limitation of always having only two choices.
Popsugar challenge 2019: A book that makes you nostalgic (not reading the book too much, but the very fact that it existed brought on the nostalgia)
Popsugar challenge 2019: A book that makes you nostalgic (not reading the book too much, but the very fact that it existed brought on the nostalgia)
May 2, 2025
A fun way to learn about the Oregon Trail. So many endings! I barley made it out alive. . .
August 11, 2018
First sentence: You are loading up your covered wagon to head out to Oregon Territory, where a square mile of free farmland awaits your family. It's 1850 and there aren't any planes or trains yet, so you'll have to walk while your oxen pull your jam-packed wagon across North America's Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, and the lands of many First Nations tribes, like the Otoe-Missouria, Osage, Cheyenne, Pawnee, Arapaho, and Shoshone.
Premise/plot: The Race to Chimney Rock is the first in a four book series based on the classic computer game Oregon Trail. It is a choose-your-own adventure book with over twenty possible endings. I believe only one will lead you to Chimney Rock and set you up for book two.
Your biggest decision is your first decision. Will you choose to start your journey west in April or May?
If you want a REALLY short story to read, always decide to leave in April. You'll be done with the story in no time. There are just four possible stories with an April beginning.
My thoughts: I really enjoyed this one. I was determined to keep reading until I made it to Chimney Rock.
Are the decisions obvious? Yes. No. Sometimes. Not really. A few do seem easier to discern "wise" from "foolish" actions.
Do all the wrong/foolish decisions lead to death? No. Don't get me wrong. While all wrong decisions hinder you from reaching Chimney Rock and thus keep you from reaching Oregon, not all wrong decisions lead to a grave for you and/or your whole family. I was happily surprised to see some genuinely happy endings. I didn't feel so bad reading the words "The END" if I managed to still be alive. That being said, there were some horrible, horrible endings where you did end up dead.
While I understand that it's necessary to restrict EVERY decision to just two choices in the book and in the game, life doesn't really work like that. A third option makes sense sometimes.
Premise/plot: The Race to Chimney Rock is the first in a four book series based on the classic computer game Oregon Trail. It is a choose-your-own adventure book with over twenty possible endings. I believe only one will lead you to Chimney Rock and set you up for book two.
Your biggest decision is your first decision. Will you choose to start your journey west in April or May?
If you want a REALLY short story to read, always decide to leave in April. You'll be done with the story in no time. There are just four possible stories with an April beginning.
My thoughts: I really enjoyed this one. I was determined to keep reading until I made it to Chimney Rock.
Are the decisions obvious? Yes. No. Sometimes. Not really. A few do seem easier to discern "wise" from "foolish" actions.
Do all the wrong/foolish decisions lead to death? No. Don't get me wrong. While all wrong decisions hinder you from reaching Chimney Rock and thus keep you from reaching Oregon, not all wrong decisions lead to a grave for you and/or your whole family. I was happily surprised to see some genuinely happy endings. I didn't feel so bad reading the words "The END" if I managed to still be alive. That being said, there were some horrible, horrible endings where you did end up dead.
While I understand that it's necessary to restrict EVERY decision to just two choices in the book and in the game, life doesn't really work like that. A third option makes sense sometimes.
November 16, 2018
I don't often wish for half star rating options, but I think this is a 3.5 star book. I picked it up for sheer nostalgia. What kid my age DIDN'T love the Oregon Trail game? and what better way to bring it to life than through a choose your own ending book? I grabbed a copy the minute I saw it.
In execution, though, the book itself falls somewhere between the kitschy nostalgia one might expect for a book based on a favorite old computer game and an earnest juvenile historical fiction, like the I Survived series. I'm not sure it entirely succeeds at either.
On the other hand, it's a short fun read, with many many more options than the game ever had. Bandits! Cholera! Broken back! And lots of positive and at least not morbid ending options--there were a lot of places where settlers could settle on their way to Oregon. Perhaps you'll end up scavenging abandoned items from the trail, learning medicine from native tribes, or setting up a cabin in a lovely oasis. There's only one option in this book that will successfully get you to your destination. (I know, because I read every single choice that was possible in the book.) I also appreciated that natives were mentioned, and in respectful ways that acknowledged their different cultures/ nations, and their various interactions with the white settlers crossing their lands. I think the book did a good job showing why settlers would embark on the Oregon Trail, without being cheerleaders for imperialism.
So, while this book might not entirely succeed as either juvenile historical fiction or nostalgic adult kitsch, it isn't bad as either. If you remember the game fondly, page through for some quick entertainment. And if the kids in your life never had the pleasure of playing the game, get them the books on their own, and they can enjoy learning about a reasonably historically accurate experience on the Oregon Trail.
In execution, though, the book itself falls somewhere between the kitschy nostalgia one might expect for a book based on a favorite old computer game and an earnest juvenile historical fiction, like the I Survived series. I'm not sure it entirely succeeds at either.
On the other hand, it's a short fun read, with many many more options than the game ever had. Bandits! Cholera! Broken back! And lots of positive and at least not morbid ending options--there were a lot of places where settlers could settle on their way to Oregon. Perhaps you'll end up scavenging abandoned items from the trail, learning medicine from native tribes, or setting up a cabin in a lovely oasis. There's only one option in this book that will successfully get you to your destination. (I know, because I read every single choice that was possible in the book.) I also appreciated that natives were mentioned, and in respectful ways that acknowledged their different cultures/ nations, and their various interactions with the white settlers crossing their lands. I think the book did a good job showing why settlers would embark on the Oregon Trail, without being cheerleaders for imperialism.
So, while this book might not entirely succeed as either juvenile historical fiction or nostalgic adult kitsch, it isn't bad as either. If you remember the game fondly, page through for some quick entertainment. And if the kids in your life never had the pleasure of playing the game, get them the books on their own, and they can enjoy learning about a reasonably historically accurate experience on the Oregon Trail.
September 21, 2019
I really like this series concept and surprisingly, the Oregon trail works really well in book format! I feel like it's also more educational than the game because it includes more real world landmarks and detailed descriptions of different diseases and medicines and different Native peoples (without portraying white people as the "good guys" either, which I'm happy about). The text can get pretty dark and gruesome and violent though (as life on the Oregon trail was!) and the fictional boy you are playing meets some pretty grisly fates so I would recommend this book for 5th/6th grade and up just because of that. I think I'll even read the rest of the series because I loved trying all the different paths and reading all the different outcomes! So creative and fun and interactive way to read!
October 10, 2018
Bottom line: we didn't make it. BUT! The story was more engaging than most CYOA and the sections between choices longer and more in depth. AJ was truly satisfied with the ending that we got because now, as a result, we have put Ash Hollow National Park on our travel bucket list. I asked if he wanted to start over and see if we could make it to Chimney Rock and he wasn't certain. We may have to wait a bit to try to make that decision. Maybe we can pick it up again in a few weeks and see if we can make it.
March 16, 2019
This is a game type book. You get to make decisions on traveling the Oregon Trail and you see what goes wrong or right with each of your choices. If you don't make it to your designation with your first choices, you get to start over again and again and again...…….. This is the first in a series and should bring enjoyment to preteens and teens, but anyone will find this book fun.
July 16, 2019
Awesome blast from the past! Both the “choose-your-own-adventure” and the Oregon Trail storyline. 4, solid “remember when”, stars!
Age range given on the book, 7-12. I would agree. Some of the choices end poorly for the MC, but not all end badly. Written in an engaging way and some pictures to break up blocks of text. Definitely recommended.
Age range given on the book, 7-12. I would agree. Some of the choices end poorly for the MC, but not all end badly. Written in an engaging way and some pictures to break up blocks of text. Definitely recommended.
January 30, 2025
This was the most fun I’ve ever had doing a read aloud to a class! I let the kids vote on our choices and we just got to chimney rock today. I have the next three books on standby and auctioned them off to eager kiddos!! I feel like we went through a lot of the choices but probably not every single one.
August 26, 2020
This is book one in a series of choose your own adventure books themed like the old school Oregon trail video game. This wasn’t nearly as fun as trying to hunt deer or buffalo but it’s far easier to go back and try again when you die (and with only one good ending, there are a lot of ways to die). Super fun and clever, not too educational, but I liked that many historical nuggets were woven throughout.
September 25, 2024
I didn't make it to Chimney Rock the first, second, third, or fourth time...lol. It took several back-and-forths to get on the right path. It was fun though. Reminded me of the game.
Rating: PG
Language: clean read
Recommend: yes
Rating: PG
Language: clean read
Recommend: yes
March 26, 2019
This was a lot of fun, and I survived a bear attack and dysentery! I plan to rip through the rest of these today. JFIC, so somewhat youth-oriented, but you can still drown. Captures the spirit of the game perfectly.
December 26, 2020
really enjoy choosing the story!
March 29, 2021
It would be 5 stars if there were more ways to win. It was so hard!!!
Read
August 7, 2021No I DON’T want to homestead!
March 31, 2019
Is the writing stellar? No. But is the reading experience incredibly fun? Yes, yes it is.
February 24, 2023
This was such a fun book! I read it with my kids while we were studying US history. It took us a while to make the right choices to make it to chimney rock, but it was well worth it.
October 2, 2018
Can I give the book four stars if I haven't made it to Chimney Rock yet? On the bright side, I haven't died every time I failed; sometimes I just chose to quit and settle somewhere besides Oregon!
The book is a little info-dumpy in a way I find heavy-handed as someone who already knows about the Oregon Trail (and about the Oregon Trail computer game), but I think younger readers will get a lot out of learning about the different ways of surviving/dying on the trail. There's not much of a narrative besides moving from one place to another, but that's arguably not the point anyway.
The book is a little info-dumpy in a way I find heavy-handed as someone who already knows about the Oregon Trail (and about the Oregon Trail computer game), but I think younger readers will get a lot out of learning about the different ways of surviving/dying on the trail. There's not much of a narrative besides moving from one place to another, but that's arguably not the point anyway.
December 3, 2018
This book amused me because my hubby has played the computer game "The Oregon Trail" and we went to a lecture in the spring about the history and current life of that game. Turning it into a book seems quaint but also a good way to encourage more reading and develop empathy about the past.
The end of the book has a survival guide and we did as suggested and read that first. Then we used that as I read and my audience made his decisions. The guide didn't tell us everything, all choices have consequences, but for the most part my listener felt he had the power until a few choices were taken from him that made a huge difference and forced an ending he didn't want. I don't want to give anything away, but when those choices involved information from the survival guide, my listener got very annoyed and didn't want to keep reading.
Give your reader all of the important choices, give them the choices from your basic guide or historical information before you start the adventure. Otherwise, your reader will be annoyed, too. I hope the final edition of this book avoids this problem.
The end of the book has a survival guide and we did as suggested and read that first. Then we used that as I read and my audience made his decisions. The guide didn't tell us everything, all choices have consequences, but for the most part my listener felt he had the power until a few choices were taken from him that made a huge difference and forced an ending he didn't want. I don't want to give anything away, but when those choices involved information from the survival guide, my listener got very annoyed and didn't want to keep reading.
Give your reader all of the important choices, give them the choices from your basic guide or historical information before you start the adventure. Otherwise, your reader will be annoyed, too. I hope the final edition of this book avoids this problem.
January 13, 2019
Who doesn’t remember playing The Oregon Trail? (okay, don’t answer that) Wiley’s book series takes the game and turns it into a choose your own adventure complete with dysentery, starvation, snakebite, and more.
You, Ma, Pa, and your little sister, Hannah, and younger brother Samuel, begin the journey in Independence, Missouri and have already traveled from Kentucky on your way West.
Some decisions are made by Pa, but he lets you pick if you’re going to start in April or in May. From there, how the book progresses is up to you and the decisions you make.
In the first book, you are trying to make it 575 miles to Chimney Rock in Nebraska. While there are only twenty possible endings, the book has a long life span as each decision takes you on a different path.
The first three times I “played” the book, I died. On the fourth time, the oxen died, and we all had to walk back to Independence. Like the game, sometimes it's more fun to see all the different ways you’re going to die and when.
This book is great for any age!
Overall rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
You, Ma, Pa, and your little sister, Hannah, and younger brother Samuel, begin the journey in Independence, Missouri and have already traveled from Kentucky on your way West.
Some decisions are made by Pa, but he lets you pick if you’re going to start in April or in May. From there, how the book progresses is up to you and the decisions you make.
In the first book, you are trying to make it 575 miles to Chimney Rock in Nebraska. While there are only twenty possible endings, the book has a long life span as each decision takes you on a different path.
The first three times I “played” the book, I died. On the fourth time, the oxen died, and we all had to walk back to Independence. Like the game, sometimes it's more fun to see all the different ways you’re going to die and when.
This book is great for any age!
Overall rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
November 21, 2019
It's 1850 and your first goal is to get your family, covered wagon full of supplies, and oxen to Chimney Rock on time. But hurry—you'll need to make it through the rugged mountains before winter snow hits. Plus, there are wild animals, natural disasters, unpredictable weather, fast-flowing rivers, strangers, and sickness that will be sure to stand between you and your destination!
Which path will get you safely across the prairie? With twenty-two possible endings, choose wrong and you'll never make it to Chimney Rock on time. Choose right and blaze a trail that gets you closer to Oregon City!
Choose your own trail theirs 22 different possible endings so you can reread and play over and over again and I love that you can keep playing with this and it's not just a few endings and their done like kids can actually think about their answers and maybe giggle at how silly and stubborn the adults and everyone can be at times but this a perfect maybe family activity where It could be a game you guys play. U choosing the trails in the book and sees what happens.
Which path will get you safely across the prairie? With twenty-two possible endings, choose wrong and you'll never make it to Chimney Rock on time. Choose right and blaze a trail that gets you closer to Oregon City!
Choose your own trail theirs 22 different possible endings so you can reread and play over and over again and I love that you can keep playing with this and it's not just a few endings and their done like kids can actually think about their answers and maybe giggle at how silly and stubborn the adults and everyone can be at times but this a perfect maybe family activity where It could be a game you guys play. U choosing the trails in the book and sees what happens.
February 16, 2019
I discovered this book series during a recent trip to the bookstore and picked up the first book. I love the original Oregon Trail computer game and also Choose Your Own Adventure books as a kid. So I hoped this would be a nice double-nostalgia read. I was not disappointed!
The book has a nice narrative and gives you meaningful choices. Yes, you can die of the dreaded dysentery. But there are several endings that are not so morbid. One thing the book does better than the original game is explain *how* people contracted dysentery.
This is a very good book for late elementary to middle school students who want to learn some American history during the pioneering era and have fun with it too.
The book has a nice narrative and gives you meaningful choices. Yes, you can die of the dreaded dysentery. But there are several endings that are not so morbid. One thing the book does better than the original game is explain *how* people contracted dysentery.
This is a very good book for late elementary to middle school students who want to learn some American history during the pioneering era and have fun with it too.
July 12, 2019
While not overly complicated and with only one actual path all the way to Chimney Rock (although there are some good alternative endings for that those enjoy branching paths) the beauty of this book is when it decides to ask you a question related to specific parts of the journey covered by the Oregon Trail guidebook. There is a sense of satisfaction when you have read the guidebook thoroughly, or if you reference it when required, which leads to you successfully making a decision that keeps you (or others) alive during your trek. It's easy to read for younger readers and still engaging enough for adults. Can be quite educational. I love the pixel art used in the cover too, which brings back fond memories of the old videogame.
August 5, 2019
Interesting and fun book with 2o different endings. You have to make decisions along the way using your best judgement based on information learned in the guide to the trail you read before starting your journey. First time I ended up dead from dysentery. My decisions prior to that seemed to have me on the right path until I made the fateful decision to push on and not let anyone know I was ill.
You can start all over and make different choices and end up with a variety of outcomes including actually making it to Chimney Rock, settling down in a community before you get to your original destination, or getting kicked off the train for being brave enough to call another a thief! Lots of twists and turns that allow you to read this book numerous times and always have a different ending.
You can start all over and make different choices and end up with a variety of outcomes including actually making it to Chimney Rock, settling down in a community before you get to your original destination, or getting kicked off the train for being brave enough to call another a thief! Lots of twists and turns that allow you to read this book numerous times and always have a different ending.
July 24, 2025
In this book, you're the main character! You and your family decide to set out for Oregon Territory in 1850, and you'll have to battle the elements, wild animals, illness, and boredom on your way there. Use the guide in the back to help you make the right decisions that will keep your family safe on the unpaved paths your wagon train takes. In this volume, you'll try to make it from your starting point of Independence, Missouri, to Chimney Rock in about six weeks. If you go too slowly, you'll get caught in snow later; if you leave too early, the weather and mud could bog you down. Choose wisely if you wish to survive!
A really fun series for anyone who likes history, pioneers, or who loves the old video game.
A really fun series for anyone who likes history, pioneers, or who loves the old video game.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 120 reviews