Burn
Julianna Baggott
Burn
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by Julianna Baggott
The text is written at a 8th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for teens (ages 13+), and the content is intense and may include graphic or distressing scenes.
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About This Book
The sharp scent of smoke fills the air, mixing with the cracked earth beneath your feet. Around you, a world shattered and scorched stretches as far as the eye can see, where every step echoes the fight to survive. In this harsh new land, secrets buried in the past might be the only hope for the future — but uncovering them could change everything.
Themes
Quick Assessment
Burn is the gripping conclusion to Julianna Baggott's PURE trilogy, set in a dystopian world where society is divided between the protected Pures and the scarred Wretches. The story explores themes of survival, leadership, and the consequences of choices, with intense scenes involving abuse, loss, and violence. Recommended for mature teens due to content involving child and animal death, abandonment, stalking, and substance abuse.
Why we rated Burn 12IE
Burn is written at a Level 8 reading level across 420 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 9.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, Burn works for readers up to grade 10.0.
We rate Burn as 12IE ("Intense — 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: Animal death, Child abuse, Abandonment, Stalking, Alcohol abuse.
Thematically, Burn explores science & nature, survival, dystopias, leadership, 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.
- ✓ Patient readers who enjoy slower, character-driven stories.
- ✓ Kids drawn to stories about science & nature, survival, dystopias.
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.
- ! Children currently coping with grief — the themes may hit close to home.
- ! Reluctant readers who need a fast hook — the pacing here rewards patience.
For Parents
Content Intensity
12IE — Intense — EmotionalHeavy themes explored in depth. War, death, abuse addressed directly.
Content Flags
Was our "Intense" content intensity rating accurate for this book?
Reading Insights
Hook Factor
1/10A steady, thoughtful read that rewards patient readers.
Discussion Potential
1/10A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9780755385560
- Pages
- 420
- Publisher
- Grand Central Publishing
- Published
- 2014
- Type
- Fiction