And in the end....

Above all this novel caught me off balance. So many things within it were original and overcame expectations. The single element that stands out most to me is the humor. When a book read in school is described with such words as "witty" or "funny" , even " hilarious" I am hesitant. Usually those books are not funny, just someone trying to be that. But the thing about this book was it was actually funny, and didnt look like it was trying to hard. Misha was Misha and he does funny things, but he is believable. Stemming of the funniness of this novel is the satire. It was very well done, high brow yet accessible to 10th graders. One could analyze for satire as we do another book for deeper meaning. And once again, it didnt feel forced. It wasn't like the reader could be like "oh here is the satire section" it was constant and through out, with varying levels of subtly. This feat goes entirely to author who not only kept a constant voice for his characters , but also a constant satire. Its been said its harder to do comedy then drama, and for that reason we must fully acknowledge the brilliance of the author. He has created a book that , in the highest sense, earns the praise of "witty", "funny" , "hilarious", and brilliant.