I enjoyed the story line, character development, thematic threads, and lasting memory this book gave me. I would recommend it to fifth, sixth, and seventh graders. I believe both boys and girls would enjoy this read: it has no limiting factors that make it sway more toward girls or boys. This may be one reason I liked it--although the main character was a girl, she was not completely girly.
The novel does touch upon heavy themes that may not be appropriate for an immature fifth grader. However, I do think the story would carry on and still be enjoyable without a complete understanding of or respect for those circumstances. While I think older readers would still find the story enjoyable, they may feel it is a bit young for them because the age of the main character is 14--most children enjoy reading about people older than them. The difficulty level is appropriate for the average 10-year-old to approximately a 13-year-old. But parents will enjoy this book, too!