Speed and Your Brain

Name: Speed and Your Brain
Author: Allan B. Cobb
ISBN: 0823932532

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

The Incredibly Disgusting Story

by Allan B. Cobb

Incredibly Disgusting Drugs

Reading Level 8-9 MS · Moderate · Social Ages 9-12 Balanced Read Page-Turner

The text is written at an 8th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), and the content has moderate intensity with some emotionally heavy themes. Its HootRating code, MS, means moderate content, mostly social.

Find on Amazon Listen on Audible

We may earn a commission from these links.

About This Book

Discover how methamphetamine, often called speed, affects the brain and body, revealing the risks tied to its use. Learn about the challenges of addiction and the hopeful paths toward recovery. This eye-opening story helps young readers understand the importance of making safe choices.

Themes

Self-HelpHealth EducationSocial Justice

Quick Assessment

This is a Level 8-9 book with moderate content intensity. Content themes include substance use, drug abuse, addiction. Written for readers ages 9-12.

Why we rated Speed and Your Brain MS (Moderate)

Speed and Your Brain is written at a Level 8-9 reading level across 48 pages (approximately 5,582 words). Middle Grades (Ages 9-12) 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, Speed and Your Brain takes about 37 minutes, which fits within a single read-aloud session.

We rate Speed and Your Brain as MS (Moderate, mostly social) because the content sits in the "Moderate" range — moderate conflict that may involve loss, scary scenes, or interpersonal stakes. The strongest signals come from social complexity — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.

Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Substance Use, Drug Abuse, Addiction.

Thematically, Speed and Your Brain explores self-help, health education, and social justice — 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.
✓ Reluctant readers who need fast-paced, hook-heavy stories to stay engaged.
✓ Kids drawn to stories about self-help, health education, social justice.
✓ Readers who fall hard for one book and want a long series to live in — there are 3 more books in the Incredibly Disgusting Drugs series.
✓ 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

MS · Moderate · Social

Emotional

Gentle

Physical

Gentle

Social

Moderate ←

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.