code snippet of <<Eloquent JavaScript>> by Marijn Haverbeke

findSolution.js

function findSolution(target){
    function find(start, history){
        if(start > target){
            return null;
        }
        if(start === target){
            return history;
        }
        return find( start * 3, '(' + history + ') * 3' ) || find( start + 5, '(' + history + ') + 5' );
    }
    return find(1, '1');
}

findSolution(24)