Sweet black waves
Kristina Perez
Sweet black waves
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by Kristina Perez
The text is written at a 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.
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About This Book
The salty breeze carries whispers of distant battles, and the crash of black waves fills the air with a thrilling promise. Amid the scent of the sea and the shimmer of magic, a young healer feels her powers shifting in ways she can't yet understand. As secrets unravel and kingdoms collide, she must choose where her loyalty truly lies—and what kind of future she will fight to create.
Themes
Quick Assessment
Sweet Black Waves is a middle-grade fantasy novel featuring a young protagonist with evolving magical healing abilities set against a backdrop of warring kingdoms and family secrets. Suitable for readers aged 9 to 12, it offers themes of friendship, loyalty, and self-discovery with moderate intensity in emotional and thematic content. Parents should be aware of complex family dynamics and elements of magical conflict, but the story remains appropriate for its target audience.
Why we rated Sweet black waves 12ME
Sweet black waves is written at a Level 8 reading level across 435 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 9.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, Sweet black waves works for readers up to grade 10.0.
We rate Sweet black waves as 12ME ("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, thematic difficulty — 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, Sweet black waves explores fantasy world-building, friendship, family, and magic — 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 fantasy world-building, friendship, family.
Maybe not for
- ! Readers who get easily upset by emotional or moderately dark scenes — the conflict here is real, not just background flavor.
- ! Reluctant readers who need a fast hook — the pacing here rewards patience.
For Parents
Content Intensity
12ME — 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
1/10A 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
- 9781250132857
- Pages
- 435
- Publisher
- Imprint
- Published
- 2018
- Type
- Fiction