I enjoyed Alexie's book. It wasn't my favorite, but I didn't hate it. The book itself was pretty moving; I had to skip the part about Arnold's pup and that was only in the first chapter. I was worried it wasn't going to get any better. It obviously did, of course.
I like the themes within the book. It's one of those books that can be easily taught to a younger audience because it deals with issues that can be prevalent to that younger audience, bullying being the biggest issue. This day and age, bullying is especially intense as it can now follow kids home via social media. This would be a good book for 8th and 9th graders; while it's a good book for anybody to read, 8th and 9th graders are transitioning into their high school years. Being roughly the same age as the main character adds another element to the story, as well: it allows the students reading the book to relate to Arnold on a similar level. For that reason I wouldn't recommend this book for kids much younger than Arnold. The suggested lowest age of the book is 12, and I don't think I'd go much lower than that unless I had an advanced reader who had maybe tackled material similar to this prior. The book is pretty depressing in certain parts; obviously there's Oscar, and there's Arnold's grandmother. In fact, all of the deaths that involve alcohol are pretty traumatic. While I'm always one to believe that kids shouldn't be coddled, there are lines that should be drawn, if only in sand.
All in all, this book was rather intriguing. I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that it was written by a Washingtonian, of course, but beyond that, I enjoy the bildungsroman aspect of the story. Most students are teased at some point in their lives and most students have the sense of hopelessness that Arnold occasionally feels. This story is great for students to read because it can help them see that it's not always hopeless and that things will eventually get better.
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