I was really hoping, and expecting, to like this book, but I ended up being really disappointed. I work in a library, so I'm well aware of how popular these books are with kids. I have no idea why. I agree with others that the main character is a jerk, but my main issue with the book is that it's just boring. I usually like kids lit, but never found anything even remotely amusing in this one. That said, I am very much in favor of kids reading, regardless of my opinion of the material. For that reason alone, I gave it 2 stars rather than just one.