Reviewed by HootRated editorial · Last updated
Flip the bird
Kym Brunner
Flip the bird
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by Kym Brunner
The text is written at a 5th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for teens (ages 13+), 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
What if training to be a falconer meant more than just caring for birds of prey? Imagine falling for someone who believes everything you love is wrong, and suddenly, your whole world is upside down. Can friendships and feelings survive when passions clash?
Themes
Quick Assessment
Fourteen-year-old Mercer is training a red-tailed hawk for hunting season while trying to win his falconer father's respect and a girlfriend. When he falls for Lucy, he discovers her family belongs to an animal-rights group opposed to any restriction on animals, and he must keep his family's raptor rehabilitation work secret. The story is light and funny with a focus on romance and family tension, and it includes some mild romantic content and conflict over animal welfare views. It suits mature young readers and is handled with humor and honesty.
Why we rated Flip the bird LE (Mild)
Flip the bird is written at a Level 5-6 reading level across 357 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 Flip the bird 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. Across our four dimensions (emotional, physical, social, thematic) the book reads as evenly mild; no single dimension stands out as a concern.
No specific content flags were raised by community reviewers, which is consistent with the mild intensity score.
Thematically, Flip the bird explores falconry, animal rights, coming of age, friendship, and romance — 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 falconry, animal rights, coming of age.
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
2/10A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9780544800854
- Pages
- 357
- Publisher
- Clarion Books
- Published
- 2016
- Type
- Fiction