This book is geared to youngsters. Card does a good job of making the story credible and the characters realistic. The book was pretty short and easily listened/read. It had a strong moral point about the importance of family, was not very twisty--straightforward with a young cast typical of OSC's writing. Fun listen. ( )

This is an equivalent level of writing as _A War of Gifts_ in my opinion, but doesn't have the strength of the fully developed universe that that one does. The characters are believable, the plot a bit weak, and the answers come too easily. However, the ability of OSC to write characters who engage me and make me want to turn pages is still a spectacular accomplishment.

Yes, as other reviewers have said, it does lean on the poop humor a bit, but at the same time, these are supposed to be males that we know, in a situation where their mother has disappeared. I think that makes it even more believable. ( )

Todd has always teased his little brother about the monster in his closet and is not too timid to give his father grief over the mother's sudden disappearance, but the realization that his little brother's closet does contain a mysterious wormhole unleashes a curious inquiry that culminates in the linking of two unlike worlds and reunion of long-lost family members.

Todd believes that his mother has abandoned his father and younger brother, until he discovers a passageway to another world in his little brother's closet. He leads his family to work together in order to rescue his mother from the strange, dangerous world she's been trapped in.
Card does a very good job of making the story credible and the characters realistic, especially given the short length of the book; the story of how Todd's younger brother Jared discovered the passageway stands out as an everyday childhood occurrence that takes a frightening turn. ( )

This book is definitely geared towards young adults. I read it in an hour. The general idea of the story was interesting, but it wasn't well developed and bits of it were highly illogical. I also thought it was a bit crass--too much talk about poop and anuses for my liking. ( )