Their diverse characters have all the markings of a standard comedy team. There is a care-free Smiley Bone, who casually points out impending doom and continues to smoke his cigar. Then there is the scheming and crafty Phoney Bone who causes all the trouble and ultimately gets his hand caught in every cookie jar he comes across. Finally you have the "hero" of the tale, Fone Bone, a veritable straight-man if there ever was one. His charming and honest nature sets the overall tone in the book, and it is his unerring moral compass that keeps the three of them bound by the same fate, both in and out, of hot water. Separated from each other, the plight of his three varied and lovable "bone cousins" follows Fone as he struggles to reunite them as the story begins to unfold. Smith then uses picturesque, highly predictable behavior patterns and exaggerated reactions in and from the cousin's to draw the reader into to their characters. It is Fone's giving nature combined with Phoney's opportunism and Smiley's nonchalance that does this. It has the effect of giving the reader the sympathetic urge to smack Phoney, give Smiley a high five, and reassure Fone that everything will be OK in the end. To trap the reader in the tale, he uses a secondary group of characters ranging from a cigarette smoking red dragon to a muscle bound grandma, to a dainty, young vixen in a hot spring. With their animated qualities, the supporting cast leaves the reader wondering about the next event or laughing in amazement. Unfortunately the ending has no resolution. It finishes on a cliffhanger, cunningly trying to draw you in to buy the next episode. The long and short of it: Don't buy this book for your 8-13 year old if you think you'll be able to get away with only getting him or her this one. Otherwise it's a funny, entertaining trip from the world of reality.