This book is great for gritty, street-level Mage chronicles for several reasons.
First, it gives character creation rules/stats for "low-leve" Mages -- those who have just Awakened, or are in the process of Awakening, or are about to Awaken.
It discusses what it's like to Awaken and the initial effects it has on one's life, and gives details. It also gives lots of detail about relatively mundane aspects of being an Apprentice -- or an Orphan -- like the sort of things that happen during an Apprenticeship. There are even things that are useful in real life, such as tricks to stay awake when pulling an all-nighter.
Yes, the book is lightweight and it's certainly not useful if you're running a high-powered chronicle with PCs traipsing across the cosmos; but if you like "realistic" Mage games (as I do) then it's certainly worth the relatively low price you have to pay for it here.