Loved this book - what a great glimpse into the mind of a boy on the verge of puberty. I have a 12 year old son & I wonder what goes on in his mind. There are laugh-out-loud paragraphs & some really sad ones and the games these Larry, Witt, and Raff play - everything becomes a game, a challenge or an experiment. ( )

I think the publisher made a mistake in marketing this as a YA book. The protagonist is 12, which will entice teen readers about as much as a G rating on a movie, and yet there's a certain delightful detached irony to the narrator's account of his summer on the verge of adolescence that I think would slip by most readers under 15.

As a book for adults ready to step back in time to the days of balancing childhood games with a new interest in (and fear of) the opposite sex and growing up, this is a real winner. The adventures of Larry, Witt and Rafferty are funny and endearing, and his childlike analysis of the world he's not quite ready to enter is spot on. The writing is at times achingly beautiful. It's a shame that so many will miss this treasure. ( )