I have it. It's really quite good. I don't think it has anything to do with the same things as Harry Potter (I've heard the same things--Booklist and the Horn Book said that when it first came out); I think that people just love to have something to compare it to. Well, there is some magic and wondrous happenings involved, though they surprised me when they happened because they don't show up till later in the book.
I do think it's a good book. Very good. A little slow going at first, and I started to think it was going to be like old children's books from the 50s or 60s, but then the twists started coming along. I liked it. And the ending isn't contrived or too neatly wrapped up, which, though it's disappointing deep inside that it didn't end up the way I expected it to, is much more interesting because it didn't.
It's set in Venice, which was interesting to me because I know practically nothing about the city. It was cool to imagine all the canals and think of how they had to walk everywhere--no cars in the city, apparently.
I recommend it. I'd lend it to you, 42, if only we still lived in the same state.
