What reading level is A Faraway Island?

A Faraway Island by Annika Thor is at a Level 6 reading level. Recommended for Middle Grades readers (Ages 9-12).

What age is A Faraway Island appropriate for?

A Faraway Island is recommended for Ages 9-12. HootRating: 11IE (Intense — Emotional). Content flags: Holocaust, War & Conflict, Bullying.

What genre is A Faraway Island?

A Faraway Island is fiction — Juvenile Fiction.

Does A Faraway Island have any content warnings?

A Faraway Island has a HootRating of 11IE (Intense — Emotional). Content flags include: Holocaust, War & Conflict, Bullying. On HootRated, every book is rated across four dimensions — emotional, physical, social, and thematic — to help parents make informed choices.

How many pages is A Faraway Island?

A Faraway Island by Annika Thor is 258 pages.

Reviewed by HootRated editorial · Last updated July 16, 2026

A Faraway Island

Annika Thor

A Faraway Island

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Annika Thor

Reading Level 6 11IE Ages 9-12 Matched Rich Discussion

The text is written at a 6th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), and the content has moderate intensity with some emotionally heavy themes.

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About This Book

The salty breeze stings your skin, and the crashing waves echo all around. Two sisters find themselves on a rocky island far from home, where the summer sun hides secrets and fears. Amid the whispers of the sea, hope and heartache weave together in ways they never expected.

Themes

Family Historical Coming of Age Friendship Survival

Quick Assessment

Set during the early years of World War II, this historical fiction follows two Jewish sisters sent from Austria to Sweden for safety. While one quickly adapts to her new life, the other struggles with loneliness, bullying, and fear for her family’s fate. Appropriate for ages 9-12, the novel sensitively explores themes of displacement, resilience, and the impact of war on children.

Why we rated A Faraway Island 11IE

A Faraway Island is written at a Level 6 reading level across 258 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 7.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, A Faraway Island works for readers up to grade 8.0.

We rate A Faraway Island as 11IE ("Intense — 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, social complexity, thematic difficulty — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.

Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Holocaust, War & Conflict, Bullying.

Thematically, A Faraway Island explores family, historical, coming of age, friendship, 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 9-12 range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
✓ Patient readers who enjoy slower, character-driven stories.
✓ Family book clubs, classroom read-alouds, and parents who want a strong conversation hook.
✓ Kids drawn to stories about family, historical, coming of age.

Maybe not for

! Readers who get easily upset by emotional or moderately dark scenes — the conflict here is real, not just background flavor.
! Reluctant readers who need a fast hook — the pacing here rewards patience.