Diary of a haunting

Name: Diary of a haunting
Author: M. Verano
ISBN: 9781481430692

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by M. Verano

Reading Level 5-6 ME · Moderate · Emotional Ages 13+ Matched

The text is written at a 5th 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

Paige's hands tremble as the old door creaks open all by itself in the middle of the night. Shadows flicker across the walls of the Victorian mansion, and a chilling whisper seems to call her name. What secret is waiting for Paige in this eerie new home?

Themes

Haunted housesSupernaturalMystery FamilyDiary

Quick Assessment

Sixteen-year-old Paige moves with her mother and younger brother to a drafty, rambling Victorian mansion in small-town Idaho, where odd events begin to pile up and point toward a cult's rituals from nearly a century ago. The story is told as a found-footage style diary with photos and letters, and it builds slowly with frequent scares, creepy atmosphere, and some peril as the family's investigation grows more dangerous. Themes of divorce and family upheaval and the stress of a new home are present, and the horror is more suspenseful than graphic, making it a good fit for readers who enjoy spooky mysteries.

Why we rated Diary of a haunting ME (Moderate)

Diary of a haunting is written at a Level 5-6 reading level across 313 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 Diary of a haunting 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 — 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, Diary of a haunting explores haunted houses, supernatural, mystery, family, and diary — 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 haunted houses, supernatural, mystery.

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

Mild

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?