Current Kid Book

I'm reading Deep Dream of the Rain Forest, a book that Angie Lamb chose to require AG students to read. So far, I don't understand why. The book reminds me of Walkabout in that it is about an adolescent native walking around the country in pursuit of his dreams. The Australian aborigine in Walkabout encounters an American or British (?) sister and brother who are lost. Sister and brother are guided/saved by the aborigine's knowledge and skills and become tolerant of differences. Dream boy and his girl "guide" are from a tribe who were once headhunters (not too long ago). There is a parallel story (alternating chapters) of an orphaned British kid who is in the care of his uncle who works in the area of Borneo to try to keep the tribes from making trophies of each other. Of course, I anticipate that Harry and Bayang will meet at some point, Harry will acquire a deep understanding of a foreign culture and come away with a tolerance for differences.
The book is not well written (as if I'm any kind of literary critic). Bosse, the author, because he is trying to provide background knowledge for this story that is WAY out of range for the normal adolescent, has to tell far too much. Harry is supposed to develop a bond with the Iban tracker who is leading the expedition in search of a tribe that has fled deep into the jungle for some "mysterious" reason. Bosse writes, "Harry found himself looking for the little old tracker throughout the day." No bonding action - just author description via 3rd person omniscient. Perhaps 1st person would have drawn the reader in more - let the reader discover as Harry discovers. Same thing with Bayang. When Bayang sees something - the bird - readers have to be told the significance.
Reviews of the book compared it to Treasure Island and other classics. I hope that wasn't just a marketing ploy. I shall see.