Rating: Not for me

Level: Mid-late Elementary

Things I liked:

  • Mostly non-white characters and non-white culture
  • Builds empathy for kids whose parents are going through divorce
  • Builds empathy for bullying and for bullies themselves
  • Excellent models of self-sacrifice and compassion in friendship

Things I didn’t like:

  • Use of new-age meditation to solve problems, trying to materialize as an animal, yoga to gain peace
  • Gambling encouraged, “hitting the jackpot.”
  • The kids do some vandalism when they find an empty, unoccupied apartment.
  • Parents separated and main character evades instructions to go visit his dad’s new apartment.
  • Emphasis on tv as the best form of entertainment, a grandma who watches TV all day, emphasis on TV shows and their characters, dissing in math, reading, drawing, and other healthy activities

Overall I was on the fence but the bad outweighed the good for me. My son was super interested in it so together we read it and discussed meditation, yoga, gambling, bullying, and marriage from a God-centered perspective.

See also my review of the previous book in the series, Stuntboy in the Meantime.