I date dead people

Name: I date dead people
Author: Ann Kerns
ISBN: 9780761360070

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

Book 5

by Ann Kerns

Reading Level 1-2 LE · Mild · Emotional Ages 13+ Heads Up

The text is written at a 1st 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.

Find on Amazon Listen on Audible Find on Bookshop.org

We may earn a commission from these links. Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores with every purchase.

About This Book

Did you know Nora talks to a boy who's been gone for over a hundred years? Tom isn't just any boy—he's a ghost living right in her family's old house. But that’s only the beginning of their spooky, surprising adventure.

Themes

Friendship Family RomanceGhostsSchoolsGraphic novelsSocial customs

Quick Assessment

Nora Reilly falls for Tom Barnes, a sweet boy whose soul is trapped in her family's old Victorian home, and she refuses to give up on their relationship even as her friends, meddling ghost hunters, snooping psychics, and her parents push back. Expect a supernatural romance with creepy shadows and tense moments of peril, including a graphic novel format. The romance stays non-graphic, but parents may want to talk with teens about what a relationship with someone who has died can mean.

Why we rated I date dead people LE (Mild)

I date dead people is written at a Level 1-2 reading level across 126 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 I date dead people 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, I date dead people explores friendship, family, romance, ghosts, and schools — 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 friendship, family, romance.

Maybe not for

! Readers looking for something heavier — this is a gentle, low-stakes story by design.

For Parents

Content Intensity

LE · Mild · Emotional

Emotional

Mild ←

Physical

Gentle

Social

Mild

Thematic

Mild

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

Light conflict or tension. Mild peril resolved quickly.

Data confidence: high

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