One of those really great fun books to read. If you give up a whole day, you could read it. The beauty of the story is it's simplicity. You know Calico Joe is going to get hurt. You know Paul, is going to be decimated by this event. You know his father, the evil Mets pitcher is at fault. What makes the story is how Paul tells you about that fateful summer when it all happens. Its just a good story about baseball from a child's POV. It works but that's still very limited and would be boring to anyone that is not a baseball fan.