The Devil's intern
Donna Hosie
The Devil's intern
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by Donna Hosie
The text is written at a 6th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), and the content has moderate intensity with some emotionally heavy themes.
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About This Book
Here’s a secret: Mitchell has a time-travel device that could get him out of the most unusual internship ever—working in Hell’s accounting office. But when his three best friends decide to tag along back to Earth, everything changes in ways he never imagined, and that’s only the beginning.
Themes
Quick Assessment
This middle-grade fiction follows 17-year-old Mitchell, who discovers a device that allows him to travel back from Hell to Earth. The story explores themes of death, friendship, and second chances with some supernatural elements and mild peril. Suitable for ages 9-12, it handles heavy topics like the afterlife in an age-appropriate way.
Why we rated The Devil's intern 11ME
The Devil's intern is written at a Level 6 reading level across 229 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 7.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, The Devil's intern works for readers up to grade 8.0.
We rate The Devil's intern as 11ME ("Moderate — 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, thematic difficulty — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.
No specific content flags were raised by community reviewers, which is consistent with the moderate intensity score.
Thematically, The Devil's intern explores death, time travel, friendship, 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.
- ✓ Patient readers who enjoy slower, character-driven stories.
- ✓ Kids drawn to stories about death, time travel, friendship.
Maybe not for
- ! Readers who get easily upset by emotional or moderately dark scenes — the conflict here is real, not just background flavor.
- ! Reluctant readers who need a fast hook — the pacing here rewards patience.
For Parents
Content Intensity
11ME — Moderate — EmotionalReal stakes and emotional weight. May include sustained danger, loss, or bullying.
Was our "Moderate" 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
- 9780823431953
- Pages
- 229
- Publisher
- Holiday House
- Published
- 2014
- Type
- Fiction