(Cover picture courtesy of J & J Books and Coffee.)

Aiden and Meg Falconer are their parents’ only hope.  The Falconers are facing life in prison—unless Aiden and Meg can follow a trail of clues to prove their innocence.  The problem?  They’re trapped in a juvenile detention center.  Until they escape one night—and find themselves on the run, both from the authorities and from a sinister attacker who has his own reason to stop them.  The Falconers must use their wits to make it across the country—with plenty of tests along the way.

I admit it: this book is way too young for me.  I wasn’t in the target age group when I read it and I’m certainly not now, but it’s still a book I like to re-read about once a year.  Why?  Because it’s a well-written book with a cliché yet interesting premise.

It’s kind of predictable, but I’ve read a lo of books and watched a lot of movies with a similar premise.  However, for the target age group, this would be their first exposure to a premise like this (proving the innocence of someone who’s been framed) and as such, is a great introduction to crime fiction.  Gordon Korman is an excellent writer and has obviously done his research when it comes to all of the exciting scenarios in his first book in the On the Run series.

Meg and Aiden are great characters; they’re sympathetic and Chasing the Falconers appealing for both boys and girls.  They also don’t like resorting to stealing to survive while they hunt for evidence and feel a lot of guilt when they do, but it shows that they at least refuse to sink to a really low level.  Gordon Korman makes the siblings sympathetic (especially when we learn more about their backstory) while at the same time keeping the plot moving at a fast pace.

I would highly recommend it to people ages 10-12.

I give this book 4.5/5 stars.

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