I feel terrible saying this, but I honestly don’t know what I just read. This is a weird story and, unfortunately, not in a particularly good way. Though it sounded promising when I first found it, I personally did not like the content of this story. The interactions between Brian and the future-predicting software system are quite eerie, which could have been a good thing, but I struggled to make sense of what was happening for the majority of the narrative.

All of the characters are really unlikeable, though the main character, Brian, is supposed to be to some extent. Their interactions with each other feel stilted and unrealistic. And what they let him get away with in terms of the bets they made also felt very unrealistic. The writing is very jumbled and confusing—it feels all over the place and there is no discernible direction many times.

Here is where I come to an opinion that is going to sound completely ridiculous given the type of story this is supposed to be. This is what is considered “hi-lo” fiction—short books that are designed to encourage young, reluctant readers to read more. This one seems like it is aimed for a late elementary school to early middle school audience. It is intended to be short, but this story just needed more. It would be better if it was more fleshed out—if there were more details about the program or his friendships. It really just isn’t the right type of story for this short format. I have to admit I do not feel that this would be the best thing for a reluctant reader to read.