Summer of lost and found

Name: Summer of lost and found
Author: Rebecca Behrens
ISBN: 9781481458962

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Rebecca Behrens

Reading Level 5-6 C · Gentle Ages 9-12 Balanced Read

The text is written at a 5th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), and the content is gentle with no concerning themes. Its HootRating code, C, means gentle content.

Find on Amazon Listen on Audible

We may earn a commission from these links.

About This Book

Nell, used to city life, finds herself spending the summer in Roanoke, North Carolina. When she teams up with Ambrose, a passionate history reenactor, they dive into the mystery of the vanished Roanoke colonists. What starts as a dull vacation soon transforms into an exciting hunt for secrets from the past.

Themes

Adventure Mystery Historical FriendshipVacations

Quick Assessment

This is a Level 5-6 book with gentle content intensity. No notable content concerns flagged. Written for readers ages 9-12.

Why we rated Summer of lost and found C (Gentle)

Summer of lost and found is written at a Level 5-6 reading level across 278 pages (approximately 63,084 words). Reading-wise, most kids in grade 6 and up can manage Summer of lost and found on their own; younger readers can enjoy it with a parent or teacher reading along.

Read aloud, Summer of lost and found runs about 7 hours — long enough to span several bedtime sessions.

We rate Summer of lost and found as C (Gentle) because the content sits in the "Gentle" range — no conflict beyond everyday childhood experiences. Across our four dimensions (emotional, physical, social, thematic) the book reads as evenly gentle; no single dimension stands out as a concern.

No specific content flags were raised by community reviewers, which is consistent with the gentle intensity score.

Thematically, Summer of lost and found explores adventure, mystery, historical, friendship, and vacations — 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.
✓ Kids drawn to stories about adventure, mystery, historical.

Maybe not for

! Readers looking for something heavier — this is a gentle, low-stakes story by design.

For Parents

Content Intensity

C · Gentle

Emotional

Gentle

Physical

Gentle

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

No conflict beyond everyday childhood experiences. Safe for sensitive readers.

Data confidence: high

Was our "Gentle" content intensity rating accurate for this book?