Mr. McElwain sent this to me to give him my opinion, both as a teacher of young kids and as an avid reader myself who loves fantasy. Here are my thoughts both as a personal reader and as a teacher. Personal Opinion: I really liked this series on a personal level as it kept me engaged and was a fun, quick read despite the book being over 200 pages. There were parts that I thought could use a little more development and detail but I also understand that this book was written for middle school kids, not adults. It most areas of the story, I enjoyed seeing what the characters would do and react as children. One of the issues I did have with the book was the fact that James trusted people right away, even without knowing them. It was like he already knew who was good and bad yet how he knew they were good or bad was never explained. Another thing as an adult reader that I would have liked to see is the pace of the story slow down a bit and add more detail and development. The story was ...