The Search for Snake River

The Oregon Trail #3

by Jesse Wiley

Explore the frontier, young pioneer--the third leg of your journey starts here. You're halfway to Oregon City, but as you know, the Oregon Trail is full of risks and surprises! This is the third installment of four books that will take you all the way to Oregon Territory-- if you make the right choices. 

In book three of this exciting choose-your-own-trail series, it's 1850 and you've traveled for more than two months on foot for fifteen miles a day with your family, covered wagon full of supplies, and oxen. You've crossed prairies, rivers, and mountains and have faced stampeding buffalo. But your journey is not yet over. There are still months of travel ahead of you— if you can survive the dangerous ford of the wild Snake River at Three Island Crossing!
    Trust yourself. Every decision counts! Which path will you choose? With twenty-two possible endings, choose wrong and you'll never find Snake River. Choose right and blaze a trail that gets you closer to Oregon City!

Genres: Historical Fiction, Gamebooks, Choose Your Own Adventure, Historical, Adventure, Fiction, Animals

160 pages, Hardcover

First published September 4, 2018

Reviews

[Tara Strosnider · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every time my library gets books like these I love reading them and choosing my own path and seeing the different story endings

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

First sentence: You are a young pioneer headed West by wagon train in the year 1850. You and your family have already braved nearly half of the perilous frontier path known as the Oregon Trail, crossing 820 miles of territory in what will later become the states of Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming.


Premise/plot: The Search for Snake River is the third book in this Choose Your Own Adventure series inspired by the classic computer game Oregon Trail. There are twenty-three possible endings, but only one ending that will bring you and your family closer to your dream of reaching Oregon City.



The first decision you'll be asked to make is should you head to Fort Bridger OR should you take the Greenwood Cutoff. One choice will lead to four endings. The other closer to twenty possible endings.



Risks abound in this choose your own adventure book. Some of the risks directly relate to your decisions in a logical way. Others not so much.


My thoughts: These books are fun and enjoyable. In spite of the many deaths you might die. Not all failures result in death which I suppose is a good thing. I imagine in the game that is not the case.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Similar to choose your own adventure books that I grew up with. My first progression of choices suddenly ended without a fully explained outcome. This confused me and I asked my daughter, who read it before me, what I was supposed to do now. She said to go back and change a choice till I got a different outcome. So second time through I succeeded. I then read each outcome to be able to give an opinion on the book as a whole.

Overall I was impressed that the multitude of choices that end in not reaching Snake River are not too heavy. Not every one of them ends in death and the ones that do are not graphic. Despite going back and forth throughout the book it did not feel choppy and the story flowed smoothly whichever progression you chose.

The notes I made:
pg 11 MC rolls her eyes at her brother (while smiling).
pg 39 friend says you can lie if you are caught pursuing a dangerous choice (see pg 129 note)
pg 129 moral dilemma, do you tell on a friend who is doing something dangerous or follow them
pg 141 Lie to younger sister and redirect her attention so she doesn't notice a grave on the trail, you feel guilty for fibbing.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kyle got me this as a gag gift for Christmas. It's the third book in a series of 4 (apparently not necessary to read in order). I am happy to say I only died one time. Wait, no, twice. A few other times the family got distracted, hurt, or ill and we could not proceed along the trail. I read this aloud to Kyle, using different voices for different characters and it made for great social distancing material.

[Bookdragonqueenljs22 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one I actually made it all the way through without dying or stop traveling I made it all the way with my choices I cant wait to see what challenges the next book brings. Will I make it to oregon?

[Rachael Fryman · Rating 3 out of 5]

What fun!!

#fallintoreading2018 : Orange cover

[Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

First one I've gotten through without making a bad choice! I had to read through again and fuck up on purpose. Still fun, and now your character has more responsibility. Time to finish this.

[Luci Arbon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again the guide in the back of this book is even more exstensive than the past two! I loved going through at the end of this book to look at all ways I could have D!ED!

[Taren Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son is really enjoying getting to choose his own paths and protect and provide for his family and others

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this book at the library and knew I had to read it. I know this is the third book, and I would have probably known more about what was going on if I had read the first two, but this combined two of my favorite things, so I couldn't wait. I love Choose Your Own Adventure books, have since I was a kid, and as a kid, I played Oregon Trail a lot. In fact, I have the new version of Oregon Trail that I play even as an adult because of my love for it. This book is almost like the literary version of the Oregon Trail game. Truth be told, I still had trouble staying alive.

I really like that this wasn't a one off, where it was just another Choose Your Own Adventure whose story does not have anything to do with the others. There is a whole collection for the Oregon Trail, which makes it unique for this style of book. I also liked that as you read, hints are given out to try and help you make it across the trail safely. I found myself going back to read sections over again before I made a decision. I wasn't jumping to the next part to see which decision would keep me alive, but going back to what I had already read to see if there was something I could use to help me make the safe decision. Even with all of that, I still ended up dying the first time I tried, and had to go back and figure out where my choices went off kilter.

This whole series seems like a 90s kid's dream come true. The game and book genre (I don't know what else to call it) that were popular coming together to form something wonderful. Basically, if you were a kid who loved when your teacher let you play Oregon Trail, this is one I would recommend. Let's face it, everyone loves playing Oregon Trail.

Author: Jesse Wiley
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: September 4th 2018

[Kev Willoughby · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most challenging book in the series so far! Some of the choices in this one are not as obvious as in the first two books in the series. The trail guide at the end of the book gives some guidance that will help the reader make the right choices along the way, but in some scenarios, both choices may seem equally appealing (just as in real life).

And as in the first two books, there is only one correct series of choices that will lead to the correct outcome and the opportunity to continue to book four to arrive at the end of The Oregon Trail. That's the unique thing about the series as compared to similar "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. In CYOA, there is a good balance between good and bad endings. In this Oregon Trail series, there is only one correct outcome, and over 20 alternate endings in which you and your group are unsuccessful in continuing your journey on The Oregon Trail.

[DeDe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fun to read with kids. Steers clear of social politics, which actually allows for more discussion and branches off into other research, instead of having a few scripted lines as an apology for mentioning life as it was in the mid-19th century. I have an odd number of children, so they took a vote at each choice. I like that little life lessons are included, such as: don't go wandering away without telling someone where you're going, and tell your parents if a friend takes it upon himself to track down stolen cattle (or some other dangerous undertaking). Gave me an opportunity to teach my younger kids about scurvy, which opened up into a discussion about the importance of nutrition. And, of course, dysentery came up a couple of times. Really, the conversations that these books started for me were extremely helpful! I'd probably consider this a modern living book.

[Gloria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on the Oregon Trail video game, this is a fun book (grades 2-5 reading level) that makes the reader the protagonist in a family traveling the Oregon Trail. As you go from Wyoming across Idaho toward Oregon, you face many choices that real pioneers had to cope with: Stick to the trail or take a shorter cut off? Cross the river by linking oxen or dismantling the wagons? Run from a nearby rattle snake or sit still, so it doesn't notice you? Etc, etc. Each choice directs you to a different element of the plot. Many result in tragedy or even death. Only one takes you through this perilous landscape and closer to Oregon City.

Having recently visited Idaho where we came across Oregon Trail history, including Register Rock where pioneers carved their names and dates, I was interested in reading more. I was thinking about diaries of women while they crossed the country, but this one was readily available from the library, and it turned out to be a fun approach.

An added plus was that the authors mentioned Shoshone Falls, which I also visited in Idaho.

[Ms. Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

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, your family has made it roughly halfway to Oregon, but the journey isn't over yet. There are still the dangerous Rocky Mountains to cross and the treacherous Snake River to navigate. Choose wisely if you wish to survive!

A really fun series for anyone who likes history, pioneers, or who loves the old video game.

[Davidramirez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had a lot of good moments and i think this one was more harder then the last tow in the sires but i am going to read the last one of the sires i thank the last book will be harder then this one because it is the last one so in think in will be harder than this one in. General this book is really good because you have to think about the choices you are going to make. In my opinion this is one of my favorite book

[Dane Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

One small missed opportunity, but otherwise good. This follows the same formula as the previous two books in the series, but had a chance to temporarily split the path and bring them together shortly afterwards, which is something these books tend to avoid. Sadly this isn't done, and while it doesn't ruin anything it does seem like a missed opportunity. I still enjoyed the book.

[Dohnavan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is like a video game like episode ( play store game) cause you get to make your own choices like for ex; A. Do you want to go to the left, B. Do you want to go to the right, C. Just go straight.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

We did a better job getting this one right the first try. Only part we messed up was the gift from roaring cloud. I’m very proud of Biancas decision making skills and her remembering the advice in the guide.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a choose your own adventure story that is based off the classic Oregon trail game.

I love how the cover reminds me of the classic game all the references and memories of the various endings in this book that reference the game right down to death by dysentery.

[Constance Wodziak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well this section of the trail was trickier to complete with more animal encounters, making the correct decisions when encountering others, and avoiding the dangers of tainted food, water, and where to camp! Not our favorite of the series- looking forward to book 4!

[Emma Cade · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun choose-your-own-adventure book for 3rd to 5th-grade students—lines up with 4th-grade social studies standards. The book highlights different aspects of life and travel on the organ trail. Students get to learn not only some history, but also about wise desition making skills.

[Ryan Klopfenstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

I died of pneumonia! Awesome

[Dorrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost made it in one try. I got all the way to the last step on p 121 and chose incorrectly.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Died of scurvy!

[Kim Hampton · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books take me back to a childhood filled with Oregon Trail computer games and Choose Your Own Adventure books.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these books!!! They are very enjoyable and fun!!!

[Kendall H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boys enjoyed it, and ready for the last book.

[Shari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jackson read on his own Summer 2020. He gave it 4 stars.

[Jonathan Barajas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book! I rate it 5 out of 5! I made it to the snake river.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every single time I purposely choose the wrong choices to die of dysentery, I get so nostalgic for this game.