Cover-up

Name: Cover-up
Author: John Feinstein
ISBN: 9780375842474

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by John Feinstein

Reading Level 4-5 LE · Mild · Emotional Ages 9-12 Balanced Read

A Junior Library Guild selection

The text is written at a 4th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), 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

The roar of the crowd fills the air, the smell of popcorn and fresh turf mixing together as the biggest football game of the year unfolds. Fourteen-year-old reporters Susan Carol and Stevie are on the trail of a secret hiding beneath the stadium lights. But when Stevie loses his spot on their show, their investigation becomes more urgent—and more risky.

Themes

JournalismFriendship Sports Mystery

Quick Assessment

This middle-grade novel follows two young sports reporters as they uncover suspicious activities surrounding the Super Bowl. Appropriate for ages 9 to 12, the story combines themes of friendship, perseverance, and investigative journalism without intense content. Parents should note the focus on sports and mystery, with mild tension but no graphic material.

Why we rated Cover-up LE (Mild)

Cover-up is written at a Level 4-5 reading level across 298 pages. Reading-wise, most kids in grade 6 and up can manage Cover-up on their own; younger readers can enjoy it with a parent or teacher reading along.

We rate Cover-up 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, Cover-up explores journalism, friendship, sports, and mystery — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers.

Good fit for

✓ Children in the Ages 9-12 range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
✓ Kids drawn to stories about journalism, friendship, sports.
✓ Readers (and parents) who care about award-recognized writing — Cover-up carries an award.

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?