Lottery
Beth Goobie
Lottery
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by Beth Goobie
The text is written at a 6th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for teens (ages 13+), and the content has moderate intensity with some emotionally heavy themes.
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About This Book
There’s a secret club at Saskatoon Collegiate, and every year they pick one unlucky student to be their gofer—shunned and stuck doing all their dirty work. This year, the lottery picks 15-year-old Sally Hanson, but that’s only the beginning.
Themes
Quick Assessment
This young adult novel explores the harsh realities of bullying and social exclusion through the story of a secret club that selects a student to be ostracized and humiliated. Suitable for readers aged 13-18, it addresses themes of peer pressure and cruelty in a way that can prompt important discussions about kindness and resilience.
Why we rated Lottery 11ME
Lottery is written at a Level 6 reading level across 272 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 7.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, Lottery works for readers up to grade 8.0.
We rate Lottery 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, social complexity — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.
Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Bullying, Social Exclusion.
Thematically, Lottery explores bullying, friendship, coming of age, and social justice — 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 13+ 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 bullying, friendship, coming of age.
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
11ME — Moderate — EmotionalReal stakes and emotional weight. May include sustained danger, loss, or bullying.
Content Flags
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
- 9780613998895
- Pages
- 272
- Publisher
- Turtleback Books
- Published
- February 2004
- Type
- Fiction