The blending time

Name: The blending time
Author: Michael P. Kinch
ISBN: 9780738720678

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Michael P. Kinch

Reading Level 3-4 ME · Moderate · Emotional Ages 13+ Heads Up

The text is written at a 3rd grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for teens (ages 13+), and the content has moderate intensity with some emotionally heavy themes. Its HootRating code, ME, means moderate content, mostly emotional.

Find on Amazon Listen on Audible

We may earn a commission from these links.

About This Book

What if you lived in a future where the world needed new heroes to help save it? Imagine Jaym, Reya, and D'Shay, three friends picked to bring hope back to Africa, but danger lurks everywhere. Can they stay together when everything tries to pull them apart?

Themes

Science & Nature Friendship Survival AdventureScience fiction

Quick Assessment

Three teens from harsh backgrounds are assigned mandatory work in a plague-ravaged 2069, then separated by civil war and armed mercenaries who oppose their role in rebuilding Africa. Expect sustained peril, realistic fighting, and the grim hardship of forced labor, though loyalty and friendship remain central. Parents should know the violence and danger are direct and recurring, so it suits older teens who can talk through the darker moments.

Why we rated The blending time ME (Moderate)

The blending time is written at a Level 3-4 reading level across 254 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 blending time as ME (Moderate, mostly 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, physical peril — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.

Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Violence.

Thematically, The blending time explores science & nature, friendship, survival, adventure, and science fiction — 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 science & nature, friendship, survival.

Maybe not for

! Readers who get easily upset by emotional or moderately dark scenes — the conflict here is real, not just background flavor.
! Children who are sensitive to violence, even when handled at age-appropriate levels.

For Parents

Content Intensity

ME · Moderate · Emotional

Emotional

Moderate ←

Physical

Moderate

Social

Mild

Thematic

Mild

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.