Around the World in 100 Days
It was just a normal day for young adventurer Harry Fogg- until he made that
one ill fated bet. Harry is the son of Philias Fogg, the same person who traveled around the world in 80 days. Harry is restless, and an engineer, and also the best friend to a master mechanic. But mainly, he is the first man in his time to travel the world an actual working motorcar.
The story starts in London, England, 1902. I thought London was the perfect setting for this story. I could clearly imagine the buildings that the characters were in at the time. I really liked how the word phrasing matched the characters’ personalities. The book contained phrases that only an Englishman could have, or would have said.
When Harry woke up, he didn’t know what he would be in for, until he went to visit his father and his friends. One of Philias’s friends was Louis Hardimann, the owner of the English railways at the time. He and Harry started talking about how his motorcar was much better than any train in the world. Mr. Hardimann took offence, so they made a bet. 100,000 dollars in todays money.

The bet was that Harry couldn’t travel around the world in 100 days or less. Harry’s crew was made up of himself, the driver, Johnny, the master mechanic, Charles, the rule enforcer, and Elizabeth, newspaper journalist. I thought that line-up of characters was interesting, but it seemed to make the book much more interesting. Together, they go on wild adventures all over the globe. They get stuck in all kinds of unintended situations, like getting arrested in Russia, running into a fire in America, and running out of power two miles from the finish line.

I really liked this book because of its adventure, action, suspense, and drama. It was really exciting when Harry and company had to race to the finish line in the last few minutes of the time limit. If you want to know how it ends, you’ll have to read it, you’ll be glad you did.

The book takes place in old England, so some of the phrases can be hard to read. I don’t usually read historical fiction, but this was easily the best book I’ve ever read in this genre. The mood kept me at the edge of my seat in every chapter. It was exciting one minute, suspenseful the next, and scary after that.
I think Around the World in 100 Days is one of the best books I’ve ever read. It has action, suspense, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes adventure, action, and an underdog.