It's a shame this was the only book of the series to get made into a movie. That said, the book has, perhaps unsurprisingly, more to it than the movie did. I read this to see if it's appropriate for my 8-year-old to read - I don't think it is, in that although she has the vocabulary and comprehension I don't think it would hold her interest. It's definitely a potboiler up there with harry Potter but the writing is richer and more complex in tone and structure. I'd say it's more appropriate to a 10-year-old, minimum. The story itself was engaging, and painted a compelling world with very well-developed characters. I'm going to read the other two.