I enjoyed this book but I don't feel completely satisfied. The tone is quite dark and melancholy in places and not necessarily filled with childhood wonder as I was expecting. The magical realism/fantasy elements I really enjoyed, but was left feeling like I wanted more of it. This is definitely a story more about childhood trauma than a fantasy story, and I was wanting more from the adventure. I think the book would benefit from being longer which certainly isn't the worst criticism you could give. The Hempstocks are fascinating and loveable and more of them would have been brilliant. The main character was also very sweet and his friendship with Lettie was heartwarming.