Conversion

Name: Conversion
Author: Katherine Howe
ISBN: 9780399167775

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Katherine Howe

Reading Level 4-5 ME · Moderate · Emotional Ages 13+ Matched

The text is written at a 4th 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

Colleen’s classmates start twitching and jerking in ways no one can explain, and whispers swirl around the school like a storm. Panic spreads through the town, but Colleen knows a secret that no one else remembers — a strange sickness struck this very place centuries ago. As history begins to repeat itself, will Colleen uncover the truth before it’s too late?

Themes

Horror & Ghost StoriesFriendshipSocial IssuesPreparatory schoolsEpidemics

Quick Assessment

Colleen's senior-year classmates at St. Joan's Academy develop sudden tics, seizures, and hair loss, and rumors and panic spread through their small Massachusetts town. Parents should know it shows intense pressure over grades and college, frightening illness, and mass hysteria, though the physical scenes are not graphic. Its parallel to the Salem witch trials makes it a thoughtful choice for talking about how fear and blame spread.

Why we rated Conversion ME (Moderate)

Conversion is written at a Level 4-5 reading level across 402 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 Conversion 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.

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

Thematically, Conversion explores horror & ghost stories, friendship, social issues, preparatory schools, and epidemics — 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 horror & ghost stories, friendship, social issues.

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.

Data confidence: high

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