I read this book when it first came out not too long ago for my book club. I picked up before anyone else did, and ever since I talked about it, everyone has loved it. This book is definitely not meant for 12 year olds, nor would I really want a 13 year old to read this. Or if you did allow a thirteen year old to read this, I'd be wary. The content in this is a bit mature, and the thoughts and ideas are definitely food for thought as someone else said. I find myself still going back to this book and thinking about the meaning. The author did a really good job in making a really meaningful book in under 200 pages or so.