I also agree wholeheartedly with the idea behind the book--a little bit of abstract thinking can go a long way!

The biggest fault I had with AP CS in high school--it was a horrible class throughout, so this was particularly appalling--was that it failed to encourage thinking. Everybody would blindly apply whatever we had just learned and turn their minds off at the first hint of adversity.

A well structured course that promotes thinking is exactly what's needed.