i can't lie, after the thing about jellyfish i had extraordinarily high expectations for the next book produced by ali. it did not quite live up, but there were many aspects of the book that compelled me: the cast of characters, the medium of storytelling (typical first-person POV interspersed with interview snippets and a letter at the end), the theme of friendship, and especially the way that mags taught the kids. the dancing scene on the soccer field warmed me completely.