Broken

Name: Broken
Author: CJ Lyons
ISBN: 9781402285455

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by CJ Lyons

Reading Level 4-5 IE · Intense · Emotional Ages 13+ Heads Up

The text is written at a 4th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for teens (ages 13+), and the content is intense and may include graphic or distressing scenes. Its HootRating code, IE, means intense content, mostly emotional.

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About This Book

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to face your biggest fears all at once? Scarlet Killian has a heart that could stop any minute, yet she's about to take on the wild halls of high school for three whole days. But this school hides secrets darker than anyone could imagine—will Scarlet’s courage be enough to survive?

Themes

FamilySchool storiesSickDysfunctional familiesJuvenile fictionFamily problems

Quick Assessment

Fifteen-year-old Scarlet, who has a rare heart condition, gets three days to try attending high school and soon finds that something about the school is very wrong. The thriller includes a broken bone, blood and gore, cancer, alcohol abuse, PTSD, ableist language, a racial slur, and a large age gap, so parents should consider these for older teen readers. The suspense is intense and the ending leaves threads open.

Why we rated Broken IE (Intense)

Broken is written at a Level 4-5 reading level across 323 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 Broken as IE (Intense, mostly emotional) because the content sits in the "Intense" range — intense conflict including peril, frightening scenes, or emotionally heavy themes. The strongest signals come from emotional weight, physical peril, social complexity, thematic difficulty — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.

Specific content flags noted by reviewers: alcohol abuse, bone break, r-slur usage, cancer, PTSD, ableist language, large age gap, blood/gore.

Thematically, Broken explores family, school stories, sick, dysfunctional families, and juvenile fiction — 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 family, school stories, sick.

Maybe not for

! Sensitive readers who get overwhelmed by intense conflict or scary scenes.
! Children younger than 13 — the content intensity is above what most younger kids can process comfortably.

For Parents

Content Intensity

IE · Intense · Emotional

Emotional

Intense ←

Physical

Intense

Social

Moderate

Thematic

Moderate

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

Heavy themes explored in depth. War, death, abuse addressed directly.