Beast

Name: Beast
Author: Brie Spangler
ISBN: 9781101937167

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Brie Spangler

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

What if an accident changes everything you thought you knew about yourself and the people around you? Imagine meeting someone who seems amazing, but hides a secret that could change your friendship forever. Can Dylan and Jamie find trust and understanding in a world full of surprises?

Themes

Friendship Identity & Self-DiscoveryInterpersonal RelationsLGBTQ+ Representation

Quick Assessment

After a rooftop fall, fifteen-year-old Dylan is required to attend group therapy for self-harm, where he meets Jamie and their friendship grows into romance after he learns she is transgender. The story addresses self-harm, abusive parents, abandonment, PTSD, and several deaths, including a dog and a family member, along with some blood and gore, all handled with emotional weight rather than graphic detail. Parents may want to talk through its themes of acceptance and prejudice, which the book explores thoughtfully.

Why we rated Beast ME (Moderate)

Beast is written at a Level 3-4 reading level across 330 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 Beast 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, social complexity — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.

Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Self-harm, Transgender themes.

Thematically, Beast explores friendship, identity & self-discovery, interpersonal relations, and lgbtq+ representation — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers.

Good fit for

✓ Children in the Ages 13+ range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
✓ Kids drawn to stories about friendship, identity & self-discovery, interpersonal relations.

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

Moderate

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.