Fun, but too long. There were two stories here: the story leading up to Max and co. heading off to Andesia and the story once they reached that country. The leading-up to part could have been shorter and maybe folded into the previous book, or expanded a bit and made into its own book. And the Andesia pars dragged a bit and could have been given some more "oomph" with a bit more action. And the ending was a bit of a let-down. What happened with Pia? What actual purpose did R Zilla serve? From where did the romance between Grammie and Joachim spring? (No. Seriously. Did anyonesee that coming?) Honestly, it was a bit of a mess, but it reunited Max with his parents, so it gets an extra star just for that. ( )