An absolutely delightful start to a charmingly clever series. The cheeky, fourth wall-breaking narrative style really wimmerses the reader and makes you feel like you're a part of the adventure. Cass and Max-Ernest are the most compelling 11 year olds I've ever met, delicately walking the line between being too childish to enjoy reading about and too mature to be realistically (by fantasy fiction standards) 11. Even reading this as an adult, there's plenty of jokes, riddles, and plot twists that keep my on my toes. I'm very eager to continue the series.