Lost voices

Name: Lost voices
Author: Sarah Porter
ISBN: 9780547482507

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Sarah Porter

Reading Level 5-6 IE · Intense · Emotional Ages 13+ Heads Up

The text is written at a 5th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for teens (ages 13+), and the content is intense and may include graphic or distressing scenes. Its HootRating code, IE, means intense content, mostly emotional.

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About This Book

The sharp, biting chill of the Alaskan sea stings Luce’s skin as icy waves crash around her. Just moments ago, she was left alone on the cliffs, scared and hurt, but now something incredible happens—her body begins to change beneath the cold water. As a new world of shimmering scales and mysterious voices unfolds, Luce wonders if she can find hope where she once felt only fear.

Themes

MermaidsSupernaturalInterpersonal RelationsSingingFictionResilienceIdentity

Quick Assessment

Fourteen-year-old Luce survives a sexual assault by her abusive, alcoholic uncle, then is transformed into a mermaid and joins a tribe that lures sailors to their deaths with song. Expect intense content including sexual assault, child abuse, alcohol abuse, emotional trauma, and pressure to commit mass murder, along with themes of forgiveness and healing. It is best suited to older teens who can handle heavy emotional material, and as the first book in a trilogy it ends on an unresolved note.

Why we rated Lost voices IE (Intense)

Lost voices is written at a Level 5-6 reading level across 291 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 Lost voices as IE (Intense, mostly emotional) because the content sits in the "Intense" range — intense conflict including peril, frightening scenes, or emotionally heavy themes. The strongest signals come from emotional weight, physical peril, thematic difficulty — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.

Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Abuse, Emotional Struggle.

Thematically, Lost voices explores mermaids, supernatural, interpersonal relations, singing, and fiction — 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 mermaids, supernatural, interpersonal relations.

Maybe not for

! Sensitive readers who get overwhelmed by intense conflict or scary scenes.
! Children younger than 13 — the content intensity is above what most younger kids can process comfortably.

For Parents

Content Intensity

IE · Intense · Emotional

Emotional

Intense ←

Physical

Moderate

Social

Mild

Thematic

Moderate

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

Heavy themes explored in depth. War, death, abuse addressed directly.