Samantha Plankgunn
Haylyn Benton
Samantha Plankgunn
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
The Journey Ahead
by Haylyn Benton
The text is written at a 4th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), and the content is mild with minimal sensitive material.
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About This Book
What if a 12-year-old girl was trapped by a 200-year-old curse and destined to live forever unless she can reunite two magical gems? Imagine traveling through time and around the world with Samantha Plankgunn, her talking macaw Sampson, and her brave friends Amelia and Fred. But with danger lurking at every turn, can they break the curse before it’s too late?
Quick Assessment
Samantha Plankgunn is a middle-grade adventure novel that follows a twelve-year-old girl cursed with immortality, who travels through time and around the world to break her curse by reuniting the Hope Diamond with the Hope Ruby. The story introduces themes of friendship, historical events, and resilience, making it suitable for readers aged 9 to 12. Parents should note the story includes elements of peril and loss, but these are handled in an age-appropriate way.
Why we rated Samantha Plankgunn 9LE
Samantha Plankgunn is written at a Level 4-5 reading level across 118 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 5.5 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, Samantha Plankgunn works for readers up to grade 6.5.
We rate Samantha Plankgunn as 9LE ("Light — 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, Samantha Plankgunn explores adventure, friendship, historical, fantasy world-building, and coming of age — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers.
Good fit for
- ✓ Children in the Ages 9-12 range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
- ✓ Patient readers who enjoy slower, character-driven stories.
- ✓ Kids drawn to stories about adventure, friendship, historical.
Maybe not for
- ! Reluctant readers who need a fast hook — the pacing here rewards patience.
For Parents
Content Intensity
9LE — Light — EmotionalLight conflict or tension. Mild peril resolved quickly.
Was our "Mild" content intensity rating accurate for this book?
Reading Insights
Hook Factor
2/10A steady, thoughtful read that rewards patient readers.
Discussion Potential
3/10A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9781960136015
- Pages
- 118
- Publisher
- She Rises Studios Publishing
- Published
- 2023
- Type
- Fiction