I've been reading this with my son as he really enjoys this author. I think I would have enjoyed it more if there hadn't been so much jumping around from kid to kid to kid to kid to kid until they all meet up near the end. I started to forget who the characters were and it would take me a bit to get back into the story. There is a lot going on, maybe too much. I'm hoping I'll enjoy the next one a bit more since it seems like they'll all be together for awhile.