This was a funny, light read. It's not much for worldbuilding or believable conflicts (talking robot refrigerators coexist with pirate ships and boarding schools, and Alex gets chased around by a bunch of mean old ladies for no other reason than that they're just mean), but Alex is a likeable protagonist, and it's an adventure that younger readers will probably enjoy. It's too juvenile to really entertain most adults (though it entertained me -- make of that what you will...).