content: I bought this book thinking it was similar to the Harry Potter series (in nature and spirit) but I was very wrong. The characters are acceptable, but the author did a poor job of developing the Kit character... Also the writing is exceedingly dull, the story slogs along at an incredibly SLOW pace...Truthfully I found the story boring... but I read it anyway. I will not be reading the rest of the series.I think the writer's biggest mistake is trying to write the "magic" as if it were scientifically possible, and she spent way too much time trying to do so... Newsflash! Its MAGIC>>> you know fantasy, you don't need to make it or prove it... fantasy is simply a world that doesn't need explaining or proving.I think someone very young might like this book, but I did not. I am moving on to another series that has better writing.