I read this in 9th grade English, and kind of understood it. Reading it again as an adult, my eyes are open and I'm am in love. This is a wonderful story of intrigue, true friendship, adventure and real love. The ending is sad, but wonderful and I even shed a few tears. 
 I listened to the audio recording, read by Martin Jarvis, and it was WONDERFUL! His character voices and accents really made the story come alive. It was like a movie for my ears!