I’m not going to beat around the bush. I don’t like this book. John-Wolf is a weakling and scared of everything. One day he gets taken by pirates. He becomes bolder upon learning that the pirates can not read, and uses this to become best friend with the captain. Then at school he is no longer a weakling. I find no redemption. No John-wolf gaining strength from using his powers of reading to help others. I see someone who was bullied, becoming a bully himself. It's not a story I like, or I would put in my library.