I read this in grade school - though I don't know if I really "got it." I understand the satire and allusions now, but that didn't make me like the story any more than I did when I was a kid. The characters didn't feel real to me, and the "war" didn't really grab me. The things that jumped out to me the most were the prices. This was written in 1964, but takes place in 2026 - and you can buy 2 lbs of apples for 29 cents!