I really worried that this was going to be racist/culturally inappropriate and was really worried about reading it, but it ended up being really good.

The bully in the story ended up being so well-written I wanted to beat him up, just like I wanted to beat up all the bullies in my childhood (and never did because they were all bigger than me).

The best part for me was probably the end, the way things came together and Harvey and Tuan mature because of circumstances and come to recognize each other as ... individual persons.

Adrianne ( )

Although intended to be humorus, this is also a story of intercultural relationships. Harvey and Tuan work through the difficulties of learning each other's language, often without the help of an interpreter. The story also highlights the often difficult academic issues kids face, such as Harvey being called "Zilch" because he can't seem to grasp math and frequently scores zeros on tests and quizzes. I also enjoyed seeing kids who do not give into peer pressure - in the case of Tuan agreeing to not call Harvey "Zilch", just because others do. It's a good story of quiet integrity. ( )