I read this book with my 11 year old son. He really liked it. The subject matter was perfect for him. One thing we thought was funny was that the main character was supposed to be the small kid on the team, almost not big enough to be on the team. He was 11 and weighed 101 lbs. my 11 year old is 72 lbs and not the smallest on his team. Two thirds of the team are under 100 lbs. we thought it was funny and decided that the author doesn't have a good idea of how big the average 11 year old is.