Twelve year old Mike loved this book. The actual premise and a much of the renaming is pretty brilliant and I had higher hopes when I began reading but Philbrick is writing to a much younger audience and doesn't develop the material in a satisfactory way for me today. This was a student recommendation and the second Philbrick novel from two different students in as many years, so there is clearly something about this writer that resonates with kids. That counts for a lot in my estimation.