The book of dares for lost friends

Name: The book of dares for lost friends
Author: Jane Kelley
ISBN: 9781250050878

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Jane Kelley

Reading Level 3 LE · Mild · Emotional Ages 9-12 Matched

The text is written at a 3rd grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), and the content is mild with minimal sensitive material. Its HootRating code, LE, means mild content, mostly emotional.

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About This Book

The smell of old paper and ink fills the air, wrapping around Val as she steps into the mysterious bookshop. Every creak of the wooden floorboards hints at secrets waiting to be uncovered. When her best friend disappears, Val must dive into a magical adventure that will test the true power of friendship.

Themes

FriendshipMagicJuvenile fiction

Quick Assessment

When her best friend Lanora starts making risky choices after her parents' split, New York City middle-schooler Val teams up with a strange boy in an unusual bookshop to bring her back. The story handles friendship, family change, and the pressures of adolescence with nuance, including emotional strain and mild magical peril. It is a thoughtful pick for readers ready for emotional themes and a gentle fantasy quest.

Why we rated The book of dares for lost friends LE (Mild)

The book of dares for lost friends is written at a Level 3 reading level across 294 pages. Reading-wise, most kids in grade 4 and up can manage The book of dares for lost friends on their own; younger readers can enjoy it with a parent or teacher reading along.

We rate The book of dares for lost friends as LE (Mild, mostly emotional) because the content sits in the "Mild" range — mild conflict — the kind a child encounters in normal play and sibling life. Across our four dimensions (emotional, physical, social, thematic) the book reads as evenly mild; no single dimension stands out as a concern.

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

Thematically, The book of dares for lost friends explores friendship, magic, and juvenile fiction — 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 friendship, magic, juvenile fiction.

Maybe not for

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

For Parents

Content Intensity

LE · Mild · Emotional

Emotional

Mild ←

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

Light conflict or tension. Mild peril resolved quickly.

Data confidence: high

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