Reviewed by HootRated editorial · Last updated
Crack and Your Circulatory System
Claudia Manley
Crack and Your Circulatory System
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
The Incredibly Disgusting Story
by Claudia Manley
The text is written at a 7th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), and the content has moderate intensity with some emotionally heavy themes. Its HootRating code, MP, means moderate content, mostly physical.
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About This Book
Discover how smoking crack affects your body, especially your heart and blood vessels, in a clear and detailed way. Learn why avoiding this drug is important for keeping your circulatory system healthy and strong.
Themes
Quick Assessment
This is a Level 7-8 book with moderate content intensity. Content themes include substance use, physical/safety: illness & injury. Written for readers ages 9-12.
Why we rated Crack and Your Circulatory System MP (Moderate)
Crack and Your Circulatory System is written at a Level 7-8 reading level across 48 pages (approximately 6,067 words). Middle Grades (Ages 9-12) 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.
Read aloud, Crack and Your Circulatory System takes about 40 minutes, which fits within a single read-aloud session.
We rate Crack and Your Circulatory System as MP (Moderate, mostly physical) because the content sits in the "Moderate" range — moderate conflict that may involve loss, scary scenes, or interpersonal stakes. The strongest signals come from physical peril, social complexity — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.
Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Substance Use, Physical/Safety: Illness & Injury.
Thematically, Crack and Your Circulatory System explores medical / nursing, science & nature, and social justice — 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.
- ✓ Reluctant readers who need fast-paced, hook-heavy stories to stay engaged.
- ✓ Kids drawn to stories about medical / nursing, science & nature, social justice.
- ✓ Readers who fall hard for one book and want a long series to live in — there are 3 more books in the Incredibly Disgusting Drugs series.
- ✓ Curious kids who prefer real-world topics over made-up stories.
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
MP · Moderate · PhysicalReading 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.
Content Flags
Was our "Moderate" content intensity rating accurate for this book?
Reading Insights
Hook Factor
7/10High engagement — fast-paced, fun, and hard to put down. Great for reluctant readers.
Discussion Potential
3/10A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
More in the Incredibly Disgusting Drugs Series
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 082393389X
- Pages
- 48
- Publisher
- The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc
- Published
- August 2001
- Type
- Nonfiction
- Word Count
- 6,067
- Read-Aloud
- ~40 min
- Text Density
- Light Text