I read this book for a book group and was quite dissapointed. It is on the high school reading list in my town and I thought I'd enjoy it because the town English coordinator who makes up the required and recommended reading lists is a nice man, but I was upset by the characters (except Charlie-Kate), plot, and even the details of the story. I'm not oohing and ahhing over it. You don't need to read it if you don't have to. I hope that by the time I get to high school it's off the list of required reading.