Not a bad middle grade book! I can see why a lot of kids really get into this story; there's lot of action, a little bit of humor, and an overall interesting fantasy world. Some of the spells and such that were created were fun, and the plot was fast-paced enough to keep kids engaged the entire time.

The characters were, for the most part, well-developed and we do get a glimpse into the more "evil" side of things. There are some interesting conversations to be had in relation to the themes in this book, even if some of them might be on the darker side. 

The ending leaves space for the next book in the series, and I'm kind of interested in seeing where this goes next.