Early autumn

Name: Early autumn
Author: Robert B. Parker
ISBN: 0440122147

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Robert B. Parker

Sunny Randall

Reading Level 3-4 MP · Moderate · Physical Ages 13+ Heads Up

The text is written at a 3rd 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, MP, means moderate content, mostly physical.

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About This Book

After a painful divorce, a young boy is caught in a dangerous tug-of-war between his parents, with hired thugs and risky kidnappings. A determined protector steps in to teach the boy survival skills in the wild Maine woods, facing serious threats to keep him safe. Together, they navigate a tense battle where courage and cleverness are their best weapons.

Themes

Family Survival Adventure

Quick Assessment

This is a Level 3-4 book with moderate content intensity. Content themes include physical danger, mild peril. Written for readers ages 13+.

Why we rated Early autumn MP (Moderate)

Early autumn is written at a Level 3-4 reading level across 221 pages (approximately 50,229 words). 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.

Read aloud, Early autumn runs about 5.6 hours — long enough to span several bedtime sessions.

We rate Early autumn 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 — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.

Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Physical Danger, Mild Peril.

Thematically, Early autumn explores family, survival, and adventure — 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.
✓ Readers who like a steady plot with enough momentum to keep pages turning.
✓ Kids drawn to stories about family, survival, adventure.
✓ Readers who fall hard for one book and want a long series to live in — there is one more book in the Sunny Randall series.

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 · Physical

Emotional

Gentle

Physical

Moderate ←

Social

Gentle

Thematic

Gentle

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.