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House on Stone's Throw Island

Dan Poblocki

Cover of House on Stone's Throw Island

House on Stone's Throw Island

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Dan Poblocki

Reading Level 6 11ME Ages 9-12 Matched

The text is written at a 6th 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

Here’s a secret: Stone’s Throw Island hides restless ghosts who crash weddings from beyond the grave. Josie and Eli thought they were just guests, but when an old Nazi uniform and a mysterious cry in German appear, they realize this wedding might be their last. And that’s only the beginning.

Themes

HorrorMysterySupernaturalFriendshipAdventure

Quick Assessment

This middle-grade horror novel follows Josie and Eli as they attend a wedding on a remote island haunted by vengeful spirits tied to its dark past. Suitable for ages 9-12, the story includes spooky themes, mild peril, and historical references that may prompt questions about World War II. Parents should know it features supernatural elements and suspense but no graphic content.

Why we rated House on Stone's Throw Island 11ME

House on Stone's Throw Island is written at a Level 6 reading level across 269 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 7.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, House on Stone's Throw Island works for readers up to grade 8.0.

We rate House on Stone's Throw Island as 11ME ("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, physical peril — 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, House on Stone's Throw Island explores horror, mystery, supernatural, friendship, and adventure — 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 horror, mystery, supernatural.

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

11ME — Moderate — Emotional
Emotional
Moderate
Physical
Moderate
Social
Light
Thematic
Light

Real stakes and emotional weight. May include sustained danger, loss, or bullying.

Data confidence: standard

Was our "Moderate" content intensity rating accurate for this book?

Reading Insights

Hook Factor

3/10

A steady, thoughtful read that rewards patient readers.

Discussion Potential

2/10

A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.

Book DNA

Multi-dimensional content fingerprint

Vocabulary Level
5
Emotional Weight
6
Theme Richness
5
World Scope
1
Data Confidence
7

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Details

Book Length

269 pages
ISBN
9780545645584
Pages
269
Publisher
Scholastic Inc.
Published
2015
Type
Fiction

Genres

Subjects

Horror Stories