Becoming darkness

Name: Becoming darkness
Author: Lindsay Brambles
ISBN: 9781630790172

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Lindsay Brambles

Reading Level 5-6 ME · Moderate · Emotional Ages 13+ Matched

The text is written at a 5th 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

Here's a secret: the world you know is gone, swallowed by shadows and vampires. Sophie Harkness isn't like the others—she's immune to the darkness that took over, but when her best friend is suddenly gone, everything changes. What she uncovers about Haven will shake everything she thought was safe, but that's only the beginning.

Themes

VampiresSecretsMystery Survival Friendship

Quick Assessment

Sophie, a seventeen-year-old immune, investigates a conspiracy after her best friend is murdered and several attempts are made on her own life, in a world where a wartime virus turned most of humanity into vampires. Expect a murder, recurring vampire peril, and sustained fear and tension, along with questions about trust and the safety of the community she has always known. Parents should know the story is dark but centers on mystery, loyalty, and self-discovery.

Why we rated Becoming darkness ME (Moderate)

Becoming darkness is written at a Level 5-6 reading level across 485 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 Becoming darkness 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, physical peril — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.

Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Murder, Supernatural Violence.

Thematically, Becoming darkness explores vampires, secrets, mystery, survival, and friendship — 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 vampires, secrets, mystery.

Maybe not for

! Readers who get easily upset by emotional or moderately dark scenes — the conflict here is real, not just background flavor.
! Children who are sensitive to violence, even when handled at age-appropriate levels.

For Parents

Content Intensity

ME · Moderate · Emotional

Emotional

Moderate ←

Physical

Moderate

Social

Mild

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.