The foreshadowing, possible injustices, questionable decisions, and sadness in this book could make it a tough read for a lot of kids. I don't think my own 5th-graders could handle it. I barely could handle it. 
 But the writing is amazing. It's one of the rare books where I wished I had post-it notes to mark all of the passages and phrases that affected me. I even got actual goosebumps on my legs at one point.