SideScrollers
Matthew Loux
SideScrollers
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by Matthew Loux
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
Brian, Brad, and Matt scramble through their quiet town, dodging an angry football team and a mysterious, sinister cat. The new girl, Amber, is heading to the big rock show with the school bully, and these three friends won't let that happen without a wild chase. Suddenly, everything feels like a crazy video game — but can they level up before it’s too late?
Quick Assessment
SideScrollers is a graphic novel featuring three high school friends who embark on an adventurous and humorous quest to protect a new girl from a bully. The story blends elements of friendship, light peril, and supernatural fun in a suburban setting, suitable for teenagers aged 13 to 18. Parents should note the presence of mild fantasy violence and some thematic elements related to bullying and social dynamics.
Why we rated SideScrollers 11ME
SideScrollers is written at a Level 6 reading level across 216 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 7.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, SideScrollers works for readers up to grade 8.0.
We rate SideScrollers 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, physical peril — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.
No specific content flags were raised by community reviewers, which is consistent with the moderate intensity score.
Thematically, SideScrollers explores friendship, humor, adventure, 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 13+ range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
- ✓ Kids drawn to stories about friendship, humor, adventure.
- ✓ Curious kids who prefer real-world topics over made-up stories.
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
11ME — Moderate — EmotionalReal stakes and emotional weight. May include sustained danger, loss, or bullying.
Was our "Moderate" content intensity rating accurate for this book?
Reading Insights
Hook Factor
3/10A 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
- 9781932664508
- Pages
- 216
- Publisher
- Oni Press
- Published
- October 4, 2006
- Type
- Nonfiction