Pig City

Name: Pig City
Author: Jonathan Mary-Todd
ISBN: 9780761383284

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Jonathan Mary-Todd

After the Dust Settled

Reading Level 4-5 MP · Moderate · Physical Ages 13+ Matched Page-Turner

The text is written at a 4th 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, MP, means moderate content, mostly physical.

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About This Book

In a harsh new world, Malik, Beckley, Emma, and Wendell stay on the move to survive, but a fierce winter storm forces them to seek shelter in a welcoming community. As they settle in Des Moines, strange dangers lurk nearby, including a ruthless gang willing to do anything to feed their prized pigs. The group's survival depends on their courage and wits when human lives become the most valuable commodity in the city.

Themes

Survival Science & Nature FriendshipCommunityAdventure Social Justice

Quick Assessment

This is a Level 4-5 book with moderate content intensity. Content themes include physical danger, survival, mild peril. Written for readers ages 13+.

Why we rated Pig City MP (Moderate)

Pig City is written at a Level 4-5 reading level across 112 pages (approximately 14,637 words). 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.

Read aloud, Pig City runs about 1.6 hours — long enough to span several bedtime sessions.

We rate Pig City as MP (Moderate, mostly physical) because the content sits in the "Moderate" range — moderate conflict that may involve loss, scary scenes, or interpersonal stakes. The strongest signals come from physical peril — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.

Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Physical Danger, Survival, Mild Peril.

Thematically, Pig City explores survival, science & nature, friendship, community, 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.
✓ Reluctant readers who need fast-paced, hook-heavy stories to stay engaged.
✓ Kids drawn to stories about survival, science & nature, friendship.
✓ Readers who fall hard for one book and want a long series to live in — there are 5 more books in the After the Dust Settled series.

Maybe not for

! Readers who get easily upset by emotional or moderately dark scenes — the conflict here is real, not just background flavor.

For Parents

Content Intensity

MP · Moderate · Physical

Emotional

Gentle

Physical

Moderate ←

Social

Gentle

Thematic

Gentle

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.