The beauty that remains
Ashley Woodfolk
The beauty that remains
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by Ashley Woodfolk
The text is written at a 7th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), and the content is intense and may include graphic or distressing scenes.
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About This Book
What happens when everything you love is suddenly gone? Autumn, Shay, and Logan each face a world turned upside down by loss. Can the power of music help them find a way back to each other—or is some pain too big to heal?
Themes
Quick Assessment
This middle-grade novel explores themes of grief, friendship, and healing through the experiences of three young characters coping with profound loss. It contains mature content including addiction, alcohol and drug use, self-harm, and suicide, making it suitable for older middle-grade readers who can handle complex emotional topics. Parents should be aware of the sensitive subjects and consider their child's readiness for such themes.
Why we rated The beauty that remains 12VE
The beauty that remains is written at a Level 7 reading level across 327 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 8.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, The beauty that remains works for readers up to grade 9.0.
We rate The beauty that remains as 12VE ("Vivid — 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: Addiction, Alcohol Abuse, Drug Use, Suicide, Anxiety Attack, Physical Injury.
Thematically, The beauty that remains explores grief, friendship, death, music, and coming of age — 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 grief, friendship, death.
Maybe not for
- ! Sensitive readers who get overwhelmed by intense conflict or scary scenes.
- ! Children younger than 9-12 — the content intensity is above what most younger kids can process comfortably.
- ! Reluctant readers who need a fast hook — the pacing here rewards patience.
For Parents
Content Intensity
12VE — Vivid — EmotionalHeavy themes explored in depth. War, death, abuse addressed directly.
Content Flags
Was our "Intense" content intensity rating accurate for this book?
Reading Insights
Hook Factor
1/10A steady, thoughtful read that rewards patient readers.
Discussion Potential
2/10A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9781524715878
- Pages
- 327
- Publisher
- Delacorte Press
- Published
- 2018
- Type
- Fiction