Probably an excellent 4-star choice for young American male reluctant readers. Give it to someone who is ready to move beyond Diary of a Wimpy Kid and read something that they can be proud to have read. Exciting adventures, enough family stuff and educational stuff to be valuable but not so much to be boring, a variety of well-developed characters, good story-line that moved right along.... And much better, in my opinion, than the cover - that cover looks like it'd grab teachers and grandmas, but not the boys (and girls) who should be reading it. ( )