Love in the time of global warming

Name: Love in the time of global warming
Author: Francesca Lia Block
ISBN: 9780805096279

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Francesca Lia Block

Reading Level 5-6 ME · Moderate · Emotional Ages 13+ Matched

The text is written at a 5th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for teens (ages 13+), and the content has moderate intensity with some emotionally heavy themes. Its HootRating code, ME, means moderate content, mostly emotional.

Find on Amazon Listen on Audible

We may earn a commission from these links.

About This Book

Penelope clings to the ruins, dust swirling around her as the earth trembles beneath her feet. Everything she knew has vanished—her home, her family, her world turned upside down. But with hope flickering in her heart, she steps forward into the unknown, where love might be her only guide.

Themes

LoveSurvival Science & Nature Adventure

Quick Assessment

After an earthquake destroys the West Coast, seventeen-year-old Penelope loses her home, her parents, and her younger brother, and she must cross a dangerous landscape full of strange creatures. Expect heavy grief, ongoing peril, and a climactic confrontation with a dangerous enemy, along with a love story that is more emotional than explicit. It is a strong pick for conversations about loss, survival, and holding on to hope.

Why we rated Love in the time of global warming ME (Moderate)

Love in the time of global warming is written at a Level 5-6 reading level across 230 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 Love in the time of global warming as ME (Moderate, mostly 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, thematic difficulty — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.

Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Disaster, Loss.

Thematically, Love in the time of global warming explores love, survival, science & nature, and adventure — 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 love, survival, science & nature.

Maybe not for

! Readers who get easily upset by emotional or moderately dark scenes — the conflict here is real, not just background flavor.
! Children currently coping with grief — the themes may hit close to home.

For Parents

Content Intensity

ME · Moderate · 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

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