A death-struck year

Name: A death-struck year
Author: Makiia Lucier
ISBN: 9780544164505

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Makiia Lucier

Reading Level 3-4 ME · Moderate · Emotional Ages 13+ Heads Up

The text is written at a 3rd grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for teens (ages 13+), and the content has moderate intensity with some emotionally heavy themes. Its HootRating code, ME, means moderate content, mostly emotional.

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About This Book

This story shows how even in the darkest times, like a scary flu outbreak, hearts can find hope and love. It’s about growing up fast when the world feels upside down—and why every moment matters more than ever.

Themes

Coming of Age Historical Family Romance Survival

Quick Assessment

Cleo, a teenager in 1918 Portland, watches the Spanish flu shut down schools and churches, then volunteers with the Red Cross as bodies pile up around her. Expect sustained focus on illness, death, and fear during a pandemic, along with grief over people she comes to care about. Romance is light, a budding attraction with a medical student who is also a war veteran, and the story handles its darkest moments without graphic detail.

Why we rated A death-struck year ME (Moderate)

A death-struck year is written at a Level 3-4 reading level across 282 pages. Upper Grades (Ages 13+) is the typical interest range for this book — readers in that age band have the maturity and attention span suited to the story, separate from whether they can decode the words.

We rate A death-struck year as ME (Moderate, mostly emotional) because the content sits in the "Moderate" range — moderate conflict that may involve loss, scary scenes, or interpersonal stakes. The strongest signals come from emotional weight — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.

No specific content flags were raised by community reviewers, which is consistent with the moderate intensity score.

Thematically, A death-struck year explores coming of age, historical, family, romance, and survival — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers. Each of these themes is concrete enough to seed a real conversation, not just a moral lesson.

Good fit for

✓ Children in the Ages 13+ range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
✓ Readers ready to talk through themes after they finish — there's enough substance for a meaningful conversation.
✓ Kids drawn to stories about coming of age, historical, family.

Maybe not for

! Readers who get easily upset by emotional or moderately dark scenes — the conflict here is real, not just background flavor.

For Parents

Content Intensity

ME · Moderate · Emotional

Emotional

Moderate ←

Physical

Mild

Social

Gentle

Thematic

Mild

Reading the HootRating code: the first letter is the content intensity (C = Gentle · L = Mild · M = Moderate · I = Intense · V = Very Intense); the second, when there is one, is the kind of content that drives it (E = Emotional · P = Physical · S = Social · T = Thematic). Reading level and age range are rated separately. How we rate

Real stakes and emotional weight. May include sustained danger, loss, or bullying.

Data confidence: high

Was our "Moderate" content intensity rating accurate for this book?