There are a quite a few items to know about here. The main character's father is reported to have been killed in military action, shot down in the middle east. This is obviously a heavy topic, especially for children with parents in the military or a similar field. For a lot of the book the main character is not all that “good”. For example, at one point he uses another boy he doesn’t care for much so he can get a ride to check out something he feels is important. While he does learn, it is not as pronounced a turnaround as in other stories. It mentions some books and authors in passing in the story that some parents will want to make sure to check out before ever letting a kid do so, for instance several works of H.G. Wells are mentioned. At one point he hears the sheriff mention the word “cayote”. Upon asking he is told “Cayote is code… for 'wetback runner' – a guy who smuggles illegal aliens across the Mexican border and into cities and farm towns up north. They’re usually drug dealers, too.” The last part of this is meant to be about the smuggler’s themselves, but could easily be read to be about the people trying to cross the border. Obviously, this is not the most delicate delve into a topic that at the very least Christian’s need to be cautious and sensitive of when explaining to children. The kids also take some pretty dangerous actions throughout the adventure. There are a few backhanded references to a lady in the sheriff’s office being overweight that are unnecessary and unkind.