So my husband read this and thought it was entertaining - sort of like a gritty version of Harry Potter/Narnia and how things would be if magic schools/worlds really existed. I was sad to say that I didn't agree with him. Most people's negative reviews on this book have to do with the misanthropic main character being just so unlikable; I would agree with this, but I don't have a problem with unlikable characters in books (like Gone Girl), as long as there's a plot. It didn't seem like there was one here, at least not that I could find - it's just a long description of interesting events. There were some fun and creative bits, but on the whole, I wouldn't recommend.