I was at a middle school yesterday, and noticed a lot of students carrying this book around. They were reading it in their Language Arts class. One student told me they had been reading it for "two months."
Al Capone Does My Laundry, an earlier book by this author, was one I enjoyed a lot, so I picked this up during my lunch period and started reading. I was sucked in right away. This is another book where the author really effectively tells the story from the points of view of two different characters. This must be a trend for me lately, picking up books with this format. Or maybe a hot trend for authors? In any case, this is another case where the author really gets it right. The changing viewpoints between Walk and Kirsten are really effective.
The story itself is good, if not very complicated. Walk and Kirsten become unlikely friends, then find out a secret that affects their friendship and their other relationships. Choldenko realistically portrays tween/teen life and some of the trials and tribulations of youth.
I did finish this book overnight, as it was a fairly easy read (as are a lot of books aimed at kids 10 and up!), and I hope that student really hadn't spent two months reading this book. If I had had to spend several weeks reading a chapter at a time, I'd probably have lost interest in finishing.
As a final note, I am looking forward to getting Al Capone Shines My Shoes, further adventures of Moose Flanagan.