My fifth grade son recommended this book to me, and you have to know him to comprehend what a major milestone this is. Cade, you see, is what Donalyn Miller (teacher and author of the Book Whisperer) calls a dormant reader. He certainly passes all his reading "tests" but he is not a reader. He doesn't think reading is fun, and he wonders if there was some mix-up at the hospital, because his mother does nothing else but read.
So, you can imagine my excitement when he told me this was a good book, and I should read it. Of course I jumped at the chance to be able to talk to him about something else besides his current video game level.
While it wasn't the best book I've ever read, it wasn't bad. It definitely isn't a deep, thought-provoking book, but it had its moments. For example, I thought Cade would be most interested in the "big escape", but he surprised me with his insights about Amy and her dad, and we had an interesting conversation about how fragile life can be.
Cade gives Peg Kehret mixed reviews, but I give her a big thumbs up for writing something that sparked his interest and got him talking about books.