Hideous love
Stephanie Hemphill
Hideous love
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
The Story of the Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
by Stephanie Hemphill
The text is written at a 7th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), and the content has moderate intensity with some emotionally heavy themes.
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About This Book
What if you could peek inside the life of the girl who dreamed up Frankenstein’s monster? Imagine a world of secrets, wild storms, and a love so strong it shakes a whole family apart. But could this young writer’s passion create something more powerful than anyone expected?
Themes
Quick Assessment
Hideous Love is a verse novel that explores the dramatic life of Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein. It delves into her intense relationship with poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and the challenges she faced amid family scandals, making it suitable for middle-grade readers interested in historical fiction and poetry. Parents should note the book addresses complex emotional themes with mature language but without graphic content.
Why we rated Hideous love 12ME
Hideous love is written at a Level 7 reading level across 312 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 8.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, Hideous love works for readers up to grade 9.0.
We rate Hideous love as 12ME ("Moderate — 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, 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, Hideous love explores historical, coming of age, family, romance, and authorship — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers. Each of these themes is concrete enough to seed a real conversation, not just a moral lesson.
Good fit for
- ✓ Children in the Ages 9-12 range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
- ✓ Patient readers who enjoy slower, character-driven stories.
- ✓ Readers ready to talk through themes after they finish — there's enough substance for a meaningful conversation.
- ✓ Kids drawn to stories about historical, coming of age, family.
Maybe not for
- ! Readers who get easily upset by emotional or moderately dark scenes — the conflict here is real, not just background flavor.
- ! Reluctant readers who need a fast hook — the pacing here rewards patience.
For Parents
Content Intensity
12ME — Moderate — EmotionalReal stakes and emotional weight. May include sustained danger, loss, or bullying.
Was our "Moderate" content intensity rating accurate for this book?
Reading Insights
Hook Factor
1/10A steady, thoughtful read that rewards patient readers.
Discussion Potential
5/10Good conversation starter with themes worth exploring together.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9780061853319
- Pages
- 312
- Publisher
- Balzer + Bray
- Published
- 2013
- Type
- Fiction