Reviewed by HootRated editorial · Last updated
Finding Fortune
Delia Ray
Finding Fortune
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by Delia Ray
The text is written at a 5th 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
Ren dashes into the dark, empty school, heart pounding as shadows stretch across the cracked gym floor. Mrs. Baxter’s footsteps echo nearby, searching for something only she knows about. Just when Ren thinks she’s found a clue, a sudden creak stops her in her tracks—what’s lurking in the shadows?
Quick Assessment
This middle-grade novel follows Ren, a young girl who runs away to a nearby ghost town to escape her troubled family life while her father is deployed. As she uncovers secrets in an abandoned school and befriends a quirky ally, the story explores themes of family challenges and personal resilience. Suitable for ages 9-12, the book handles family dysfunction and mystery with sensitivity and without graphic content.
Why we rated Finding Fortune LE (Mild)
Finding Fortune is written at a Level 5-6 reading level across 280 pages. Reading-wise, most kids in grade 7 and up can manage Finding Fortune on their own; younger readers can enjoy it with a parent or teacher reading along.
We rate Finding Fortune 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. The strongest signals come from emotional weight, social complexity — 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 mild intensity score.
Thematically, Finding Fortune explores family, mystery, friendship, and coming of age — 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 family, mystery, friendship.
Maybe not for
- ! Readers looking for something heavier — this is a gentle, low-stakes story by design.
For Parents
Content Intensity
LE · Mild · EmotionalReading 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.
Was our "Mild" content intensity rating accurate for this book?
Reading Insights
Discussion Potential
3/10A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9780374300654
- Pages
- 280
- Publisher
- Square Fish
- Published
- 2015
- Type
- Fiction