Reading books is quite a family ritual, most evenings I spend at least an hour reading to my 9 year old son. We both found this book to be very well written, even if parts of the plot itself were a bit far fetched. My son was, in fact, totally rivetted to the story, his only complaint being that the hour passed by too quickly!
Even before we had finished this story, he insisted that we bought the other two books in the trilogy.
The plot, which deals with genetic engineering in mammals (including humans)and birds, is possibly best suited for children 10 years or older. It is a shame that Kate Thompson does not go further into the morals and ethics of the subject, but this book is a thoroughly good read and will be enjoyed by all those who have enjoyed her other works such as The Switchers.