I'm sure this must be a delightful read for middle grade to younger young adult readers, but as an adult reader, I just never felt the charm. It's a quirky book of unexpected, flawed heroes and odd magic. Maybe I just needed to be in a different mood to fully appreciate it. I started this as an audiobook, then switched to print, but mainly just felt impatient to be done. Too bad -- I know this is a favorite for a lot of people.