Deceptive

Name: Deceptive
Author: Emily Lloyd-Jones
ISBN: 9780316254649

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

an Illusive novel

by Emily Lloyd-Jones

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

Here’s a secret: some kids have powers that no one else knows about—like reading minds or changing how they look! But when these superpowered kids start vanishing, everything changes. What’s really going on behind the scenes? That’s only the beginning.

Themes

AdventureOrganized CrimeScience & Nature Friendship Mystery

Quick Assessment

Immune teenagers with unusual powers, including telepathy, mind control, and the ability to change their appearance, begin to vanish across the country, and three of them are drawn into a dangerous investigation alongside criminals and government agents. The story carries real tension, fear, and unrest, with scenes of peril and characters forced to make hard choices about loyalty and right and wrong. It is a sequel to Illusive, so readers will get the most out of it as a continuation of that story.

Why we rated Deceptive ME (Moderate)

Deceptive is written at a Level 4-5 reading level across 420 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 Deceptive 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, thematic difficulty — 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, Deceptive explores adventure, organized crime, science & nature, friendship, and mystery — 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 adventure, organized crime, science & nature.

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

Moderate

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?