Although one of our members loved the book, and a few thought it was O.K., several did not care for it at all. We like to read non-fiction as well and the "miracles" were a little too far fetched for us. We also thought that the protagonist and his younger sister (we're told they are 11 and 8 years old respectively) were unbelievably mature, able, and talented for their ages (the sister cooks and entire turkey dinner and write poetry with a vocabulary and wit that seems unlikely in a third grader). We also couldn't see what the message about the older brother was supposed to be. His character is central to the story's purpose but is never developed or resolved. The writing style was entertaining and engaging (like reminicing with a friend) but we weren't sure what the plot was supposed to be or what the author was trying to convey.