The Cat King of Havana

Name: The Cat King of Havana
Author: Toms Kreicbergs
ISBN: 9780062422835

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Toms Kreicbergs

Reading Level 4-5 ME · Moderate · Emotional Ages 13+ Matched Rich Discussion

The text is written at a 4th 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.

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About This Book

Rick Gutiérrez, a cat video enthusiast known as 'That Cat Guy,' takes a bold step out of his comfort zone by joining a salsa class to win over Ana, a captivating dancer. Their summer in Havana reveals vibrant music and dance alongside family secrets and complex political realities. As Rick navigates first love and his heritage, he discovers that growing up means facing both joy and challenges beneath the tropical sun.

Themes

Coming of Age Family Multicultural RomanceDancePolitics and Government

Quick Assessment

This is a Level 4-5 book with moderate content intensity. Content themes include unrequited love, political themes, family change. Written for readers ages 13+.

Why we rated The Cat King of Havana ME (Moderate)

The Cat King of Havana is written at a Level 4-5 reading level across 354 pages (approximately 75,508 words). 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.

Read aloud, The Cat King of Havana runs about 8.4 hours — long enough to span several bedtime sessions.

We rate The Cat King of Havana 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 — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.

Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Unrequited Love, Political Themes, Family Change, Identity & Self-Discovery.

Thematically, The Cat King of Havana explores coming of age, family, multicultural, romance, and dance — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers. Each of these themes is concrete enough to seed a real conversation, not just a moral lesson.

Good fit for

✓ Children in the Ages 13+ range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
✓ Family book clubs, classroom read-alouds, and parents who want a strong conversation hook.
✓ Kids drawn to stories about coming of age, family, multicultural.

Maybe not for

! Readers who get easily upset by emotional or moderately dark scenes — the conflict here is real, not just background flavor.

For Parents

Content Intensity

ME · Moderate · Emotional

Emotional

Moderate ←

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

Real stakes and emotional weight. May include sustained danger, loss, or bullying.