The book has this OH HOW JOLLY tone to it the way the Narnia books do too. Have you watched the movie of it that came out in the 1990s? Very 1990s in that it's a bit angstier than the book (though this is not saying much), and liberal amounts of Colin/Mary/Dickon cuteness.

OH IT SO IS. Tempting, that is. And it's like, X-Men for the new generation, or something. A motley crew with superpowers and questionable implications. I can love it if I really want to. BUT DO I WANT TO??