Have you read The Higher Power of Lucky?

I just finished reading The Higher Power of Lucky which won the Newbery Medal this year. That's the prize awarded annually by the American Library Association for the most distinguished American children's book published the previous year. "Lucky" is the story of a little girl who lives in the desert--in Hard Pan California, population 43. The book is very entertaining, with a dizzying array of eccentric characters, including Brigitte, her father's first wife, who came from France to look after her after her mother (the second wife) died in a bizarre accident. I enjoyed it, but I'm wondering if this is one of those books that kids don't like as much as adults do. (Does anyone know a ten year old who has read it?)
Oh--almost forgot. The book's claim to fame, other than the Newbery, is its use of the word "scrotum" on the first page, referring to a dog's being bitten there. It raised a huge controversy in the school library community: some people concerned about age appropriateness (the book seems aimed at 4th graders, in terms of the difficulty and length), and others concerned about censorship...