I read this in Grade 5 on a dare from Cameron, the most popular kid in school. The story is that I had read basically every book in the whole classroom, so Cameron picked up
Blast from a bookshelf and dared me to read it. I plowed through it, finishing in a day or two, and then I recommended it to Cameron in some sort of adolescent attempt at ironic humour.
Blast is not really a very serious novel, but I'd love to read it again for old time's sake. If anyone finds a copy in a used bookstore or something, let me know. I'd love to get my hands on a copy.