Some absolutely gorgeous writing, and probably the contemp fantasy (?) book I've enjoyed most of the ones I've read (not many); I'll finish the series because I love the way Grossman constructs sentences. I also loved the Narnia flavor of the book. I was a bit thrown by the pacing of the school years--formative years! blown by so quickly! Which plays into my main complaint with the book: it's a wonderful story, beautifully written, but populated with terrible people for whom I don't wish good things and most of whom never seem to grow past their flaws. Maybe it's a long game?