I stumbled on 'The Automobile Girls at Chicago' in a dusty corner of a used bookshop, and man, am I happy I did. This is a total hidden gem. It’s from a series of adventure books written for young girls in the very early 1900s. But forget old-school boring—this one’s action-packed and practically growls with road-trip energy. Let me break it down.

The Story

It’s set during the summer of, like, forever ago—around 1916. Meet Mollie, Grace, Bab, and Ruth: four posh-yet-plucky teenager girls from a sweet seaside town who pack up their belongings into a flashy new touring car. They hit the two-lane road to Chicago with just a map, a jug of ‘refreshing waterway stop’ Pepsi?… Actually, scratch that (some food regulations involve dry goods), and a ton of vintage slang. Anyway—a diamond wallet belongs to a leery rich dude on the way. When it goes missing, the girls are framed for the theft. The rest of the story is high drama: sleazy cops threaten them, men without necks grin menacingly in the smokiest of railroad lounges, and a phantom auto seems to tail them in alley by alley. Will they prove they’re true blue by bonnet and bring the real crook to justice, all while being scared silly? Absolutely. Friendship plus grit plus a 17-mile-per-hour race y’all. Goosebumps.

Why You Should Read It

This book immediately felt so fresh. First of all: author Laura Dent Crane gets what teenagers think. She makes 'em sound like real people: goofy, sullen about sweets and fashions—then suddenly *terrified*, moments later rising to a dame’s courageous duty. Also? I loved it for the female agency. Forget sassy serving behind counters—they fix a tire by themselves, sweet-talk shop-guys, and suspect each other way too fast (but nicely). And the automobiling on an open car, hats akimbo? This could fuel fantasies for cozy stormy car-reads for days. Plus, reading about the occasional ice cream parlor in Lake Forest vs Hinsdale baked goods sounds so dreamy until the scary man in the long coat shows up—so it keeps you whizzing.

Final Verdict

Who should buy this? If you love Nancy Drew but race T’s like Little Miss is running mad? That’s your book! Really: fans of young classic girl-power (original Nancy, Judy Bolton—or even Frances Hodgson Burnettish energy), totally folks from 10 to 40. Best for anyone needing a light-steered bath in historical, retro speed filled with grit, niceness, and justice-by-gauze. Not dense; but absolutely a clear winner on heavy (car) odds day.