I read this as a read aloud for my 5th grade class. Because the characters are also 5th graders, they really resonated with the book. We read it as part of our social issues unit to educate the kids about real life circumstances that can really happen to people. My students were able to really consider empathy through this book and was overall a great reading experience!

The shifts from flash back to present confused a handful of students, so we highlight them each time, but that was the only "drawback" or difficulty using this book as a read aloud.