Con Academy

Name: Con Academy
Author: Joe Schreiber
ISBN: 9780544320208

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Joe Schreiber

Reading Level 5-6 LE · Mild · Emotional Ages 13+ Balanced Read

The text is written at a 5th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for teens (ages 13+), and the content is mild with minimal sensitive material. Its HootRating code, LE, means mild content, mostly emotional.

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About This Book

What would you do if your place at the most elite school depended on outsmarting the smartest scammer around? Will Shea and Andrea Dufresne face off in a high-stakes game of tricks and schemes at Connaughton Academy. Who will win the ultimate con, and who will be sent away forever?

Themes

SchoolsSwindlers and swindlingConduct of lifePreparatory schoolsFictionFriendship Adventure

Quick Assessment

Will Shea, a con man who has talked his way into an elite prep school, makes a high-stakes bet with fellow swindler Andrea: whoever can scam a wealthy classmate out of $50,000 gets to stay. The story involves an online poker scheme, frequent lying, and a developing romance, and the deceptions grow more tangled as they begin to unravel. It suits teen readers who can talk through honesty, privilege, and the ethics of conning people.

Why we rated Con Academy LE (Mild)

Con Academy is written at a Level 5-6 reading level across 236 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 Con Academy as LE (Mild, mostly emotional) because the content sits in the "Mild" range — mild conflict — the kind a child encounters in normal play and sibling life. Across our four dimensions (emotional, physical, social, thematic) the book reads as evenly mild; no single dimension stands out as a concern.

No specific content flags were raised by community reviewers, which is consistent with the mild intensity score.

Thematically, Con Academy explores schools, swindlers and swindling, conduct of life, preparatory schools, and 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 schools, swindlers and swindling, conduct of life.

Maybe not for

! Readers looking for something heavier — this is a gentle, low-stakes story by design.

For Parents

Content Intensity

LE · Mild · Emotional

Emotional

Mild ←

Physical

Gentle

Social

Gentle

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

Light conflict or tension. Mild peril resolved quickly.

Data confidence: high

Was our "Mild" content intensity rating accurate for this book?