Reviewed by HootRated editorial · Last updated
Numbers
Rachel Ward
Numbers
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by Rachel Ward
The text is written at a 3rd 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.
We may earn a commission from these links.
About This Book
Here’s a secret: Jem can see a number floating in people’s eyes—the day they will die. It’s a heavy gift that makes her stay away from others, until she meets Spider, who understands what it’s like to be different. But that’s only the beginning.
Themes
Quick Assessment
Jem can see the date each person she meets will die, a gift that isolates her until she befriends Spider and they travel to London, where she discovers a terrorist attack is imminent. The book is a tense psycho-thriller with a sci-fi premise, and its violence, peril and dark subject matter of mass death are its main content considerations. Its themes of running away, crime and orphanhood, along with the strained relationships around Jem, suit older teen readers best.
Why we rated Numbers LE (Mild)
Numbers is written at a Level 3-4 reading level across 325 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 Numbers 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, Numbers explores psychic ability, interpersonal relations, runaways, crime, and orphans — 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 psychic ability, interpersonal relations, runaways.
Maybe not for
- ! Readers looking for something heavier — this is a gentle, low-stakes story by design.
For Parents
Content Intensity
LE · Mild · EmotionalReading 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.
Was our "Mild" content intensity rating accurate for this book?
Reading Insights
Discussion Potential
1/10A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
If your child liked this book, they might like these
Matched on content and themes — all rated for reading level and content intensity.
Counting by sevens
Holly Goldberg Sloan
Counting by sevens
Holly Goldberg Sloan
You Know Where to Find Me
Rachel Cohn
You Know Where to Find Me
Rachel Cohn
Nearly gone
Elle Cosimano
Nearly gone
Elle Cosimano
Dead is not an option
Marlene Perez
Dead is not an option
Marlene Perez
Shade me
Jennifer Brown
Shade me
Jennifer Brown
Unbreakable
Elizabeth Norris
Unbreakable
Elizabeth Norris
The reader
Traci Chee
The reader
Traci Chee
Blind
Rachel DeWoskin
Blind
Rachel DeWoskin
Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9780545142991
- Pages
- 325
- Publisher
- Scholastic Inc.
- Published
- 2010
- Type
- Fiction