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Chocolate Crossing: The Mystery of the Missing Chocolate Gold
Chocolate Crossing—a town run entirely by kids—is unlike any other. When a thief breaks into the Bank of Chocolate Currency and makes away with the town's precious chocolate gold, Sheriff Antoine and bank manager Quinn have their hands full. Suspicious grownups, including a wily magician and a pipe-smoking witch, add mayhem to this mind-boggling middle-grade mystery. Will the kids of Chocolate Crossing find the chocolate gold—and the thief who turns their town upside down?
118 pages, Paperback
Published February 20, 2022
5 people are currently reading
1496 people want to read
About the author
Riya Aarini
51 books54 followersRiya Aarini entered her small part of the world one summer day in the Pacific Northwest. She’s the creator of the What Was It Like series—engaging prompt journals that invite readers to join the fun of exploring their unique and collective histories. She also dabbles in an eclectic mix of genres, being drawn mostly to humor, paranormal comedy, and creative nonfiction.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 10, 2022
This book is a perfect glimpse into a child's imagination. If you asked a child what a town run by kids would be like, this book is definitely it!
The candy descriptions all over the town rival "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
My 3rd grader loved this book and wants to tell her friends all about it. It has several colorful illustrations and is full of whimsy. This book holds children's interests and is very creative.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a digital copy of this book for an honest review.
The candy descriptions all over the town rival "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
My 3rd grader loved this book and wants to tell her friends all about it. It has several colorful illustrations and is full of whimsy. This book holds children's interests and is very creative.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a digital copy of this book for an honest review.
March 12, 2022
This book sounds like it was written by kids for kids, and I mean that in a great way! The author was able to capture the imagination of an average 9 year old and create a world where chocolate is currency and kids run the show. It has everything kids love or dream of, banks filled with chocolate, a town where parents live on the outskirts and just make sure you’re fed and have a place to sleep, where kids do all of the important jobs like detectives solving mysteries or being the mayor of the town. When some chocolate goes missing from the bank vault the kids work together to solve the mystery, and the potential punishment for the crime? 5 days of broccoli and brusselsprouts! I think this would be a very entertaining book for children approx ages 5-10, whether it be shared reading at a younger age or independent reading for an older child. There are some pictures, approx 1 every 2-3 chapters, which are colourful and help you picture the characters and the unusual chocolate town. with short chapters of 3-4 pages, and the picture spread out, the 100+ page book would be comfortable for early readers. I could see students in my Grade 3 class enjoying this book. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book ahead of publishing! I look forward to buying a copy for my classroom library soon!
May 22, 2023
This is a fun book to read for children. Children only running a town?? Loved that Idea. Money is chocolate, how cite is that. Don't have to deal with parents all day? What fun!!!! Children would love this book !like crazy. Need more books like this.
I received a free copy of the book and is voluntarily leaving a review
I received a free copy of the book and is voluntarily leaving a review
February 20, 2022
It received an ARC free from BookSirens and this is my voluntary honest review.
Oh, wow! The kids are going to love this one!
Such an interesting concept!
Entertaining! Original!
The characters are wonderfully Intreging!
The writing was good with an unique plot!
Imaginative!
Whimsical! Funny! Easy read! Wow. A page turner you can't put down! So, don't try to! Enjoy every page!
Oh, wow! The kids are going to love this one!
Such an interesting concept!
Entertaining! Original!
The characters are wonderfully Intreging!
The writing was good with an unique plot!
Imaginative!
Whimsical! Funny! Easy read! Wow. A page turner you can't put down! So, don't try to! Enjoy every page!
July 13, 2022
A town run by kids where the currency is chocolate, a mysterious thief, and mysterious people; I hear a mystery adventure calling .
Chocolate Crossing: The Mystery of the Missing Chocolate Gold by Riya Aarini and illustrated by Olena Shkoliar is a standalone mystery adventure kids novel and was awesome! In a town run by children and where the currency is chocolate, a bank robbery occurred. Quinn, the bank manager, left her desk to get a haircut and while she was out, the bank was robbed. The kids need to find who took all of the chocolate and then get it back before it causes trouble for their town.
This was so much fun! Can I go to Chocolate Falls? It seems like a cool place! There was great world building right from the start and had me pulled in from the first page. It was enticing and easy to follow. It will definitely draw kids’ attention. Although it’s meant to be a fun and exciting place, there are still great lessons to be learned there and the kids were literally running a town. In addition to their jobs, they went to school so they could learn what they needed to run their town on their own. They were young but responsible. I loved the mystery and case to solve premise which will be excellent for kids’ deductive reasoning skills. Can they solve the case before the characters in the story do?
There were only two things that stuck out to me, the first being the ending. It felt a bit weird. I won’t say what happened, but it felt slightly off. Additionally, I kept forgetting that they were kids. I appreciate the images popping in to remind me they were young. From time to time, it felt more grown up, which is understandable since they are running the town.
I loved the illustrations in this novel so much. I miss having amazing art within novels. We should make a thing to put illustrations into the older novels, too! The images were sprinkled into the novel evenly and perfectly placed to enhance the story. They pushed things forward while giving the reader a visual reference. The design was beautiful and had a nice blend of colors that popped. Additionally, the character designs stood out excellently. Great work!
I highly recommend this for any readers 8-10 or older who need or want an easier read. If you love some mystery, adventure, action, humor and want to be a detective for a day, dive into Chocolate Crossing.
Other books by Riya Aarini: Nelican’s Lemons, Nilay’s Wish, Pickerton’s Jiggle, Ollie’s Backpack, The Country Bake-off, The Veggie patch
*This was an honest review for a complimentary copy of Chocolate Crossing: The Mystery of the Missing Chocolate Gold from Riya Aarini via Hidden Gems
Chocolate Crossing: The Mystery of the Missing Chocolate Gold by Riya Aarini and illustrated by Olena Shkoliar is a standalone mystery adventure kids novel and was awesome! In a town run by children and where the currency is chocolate, a bank robbery occurred. Quinn, the bank manager, left her desk to get a haircut and while she was out, the bank was robbed. The kids need to find who took all of the chocolate and then get it back before it causes trouble for their town.
This was so much fun! Can I go to Chocolate Falls? It seems like a cool place! There was great world building right from the start and had me pulled in from the first page. It was enticing and easy to follow. It will definitely draw kids’ attention. Although it’s meant to be a fun and exciting place, there are still great lessons to be learned there and the kids were literally running a town. In addition to their jobs, they went to school so they could learn what they needed to run their town on their own. They were young but responsible. I loved the mystery and case to solve premise which will be excellent for kids’ deductive reasoning skills. Can they solve the case before the characters in the story do?
There were only two things that stuck out to me, the first being the ending. It felt a bit weird. I won’t say what happened, but it felt slightly off. Additionally, I kept forgetting that they were kids. I appreciate the images popping in to remind me they were young. From time to time, it felt more grown up, which is understandable since they are running the town.
I loved the illustrations in this novel so much. I miss having amazing art within novels. We should make a thing to put illustrations into the older novels, too! The images were sprinkled into the novel evenly and perfectly placed to enhance the story. They pushed things forward while giving the reader a visual reference. The design was beautiful and had a nice blend of colors that popped. Additionally, the character designs stood out excellently. Great work!
I highly recommend this for any readers 8-10 or older who need or want an easier read. If you love some mystery, adventure, action, humor and want to be a detective for a day, dive into Chocolate Crossing.
Other books by Riya Aarini: Nelican’s Lemons, Nilay’s Wish, Pickerton’s Jiggle, Ollie’s Backpack, The Country Bake-off, The Veggie patch
*This was an honest review for a complimentary copy of Chocolate Crossing: The Mystery of the Missing Chocolate Gold from Riya Aarini via Hidden Gems
February 25, 2022
There’s nothing sweet about stealing chocolate!
The spectacular world building made me wish I could be part of Chocolate Crossing. All of the children who spent time there had clearly come up with a clear vision of what they wanted their town to be like. I adored the little details that were included like the narrator’s descriptions of the unusual form of currency these characters used or why birthdays in this community were even more exciting than they would be in the world of teenagers and grownups.
I did find myself wishing for more character development in this novella. The setting was such a memorable one that it was a little surprising to me to see that the same attention wasn’t paid to the characters. There was a lot of space here for the audience to get to know them better, and I would have happily gone with a higher rating if that had occurred.
Trying to solve the mystery of who stole the bars of chocolate gold was a great deal of fun. There were exactly the right number of clues for a middle grade audience, and they were shared just often enough to keep my interest levels high, too. I liked the fact that the narrator presented multiple options to the audience, especially since I could see good arguments for why all of them might be the right answer.
Chocolate Crossing: The Mystery of the Missing Chocolate Gold was a lighthearted read that I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys candy or chocolate.
The spectacular world building made me wish I could be part of Chocolate Crossing. All of the children who spent time there had clearly come up with a clear vision of what they wanted their town to be like. I adored the little details that were included like the narrator’s descriptions of the unusual form of currency these characters used or why birthdays in this community were even more exciting than they would be in the world of teenagers and grownups.
I did find myself wishing for more character development in this novella. The setting was such a memorable one that it was a little surprising to me to see that the same attention wasn’t paid to the characters. There was a lot of space here for the audience to get to know them better, and I would have happily gone with a higher rating if that had occurred.
Trying to solve the mystery of who stole the bars of chocolate gold was a great deal of fun. There were exactly the right number of clues for a middle grade audience, and they were shared just often enough to keep my interest levels high, too. I liked the fact that the narrator presented multiple options to the audience, especially since I could see good arguments for why all of them might be the right answer.
Chocolate Crossing: The Mystery of the Missing Chocolate Gold was a lighthearted read that I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys candy or chocolate.
April 10, 2022
Cute read. The author's writing style shows that they still have a vivid childlike imagination, which totally works for a story where they pay each other in chocolate and are, well, kids.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews