Reviewed by HootRated editorial · Last updated
The amateurs
Sara Shepard
The text is written at a 3rd grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for teens (ages 13+), and the content is intense and may include graphic or distressing scenes. Its HootRating code, IE, means intense content, mostly emotional.
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About This Book
I have a secret to tell you about a girl named Helena who vanished without a trace from her backyard. No one knows who took her or why, but someone is watching every move her friends make. And that's only the beginning.
Themes
Quick Assessment
This book follows a teenage girl who becomes determined to solve a cold case involving a missing high school senior. While it features themes of mystery, suspense, and teenage relationships, it contains mature elements such as crime investigation and emotional tension, making it more suitable for older readers. Parents should be aware that the book includes complex themes like disappearance and possible danger.
Why we rated The amateurs IE (Intense)
The amateurs is written at a Level 3-4 reading level across 307 pages. Upper Grades (Ages 13+) 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.
We rate The amateurs as IE (Intense, mostly emotional) because the content sits in the "Intense" range — intense conflict including peril, frightening scenes, or emotionally heavy themes. The strongest signals come from emotional weight, physical peril, social complexity, thematic difficulty — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.
Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Mild Peril, Mystery, Emotional Tension.
Thematically, The amateurs explores friendship, mystery, romance, family, and social issues — 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, mystery, romance.
Maybe not for
- ! Sensitive readers who get overwhelmed by intense conflict or scary scenes.
- ! Children younger than 13 — the content intensity is above what most younger kids can process comfortably.
- ! Readers whose emotional readiness lags behind their decoding skills — this book's intensity outruns its reading level, a classic reading-level-vs-content mismatch.
For Parents
Content Intensity
IE · Intense · EmotionalReading 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
Heavy themes explored in depth. War, death, abuse addressed directly.
Content Flags
Was our "Intense" content intensity rating accurate for this book?
Reading Insights
Discussion Potential
2/10A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9781484742273
- Pages
- 307
- Publisher
- Freeform
- Published
- 2016
- Type
- Fiction