The disappearance of Emily H.

Name: The disappearance of Emily H.
Author: Barrie Summy
ISBN: 9780385739436

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Barrie Summy

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

Here’s a secret: Raine can see memories like pictures floating in the air. When a girl named Emily vanishes from school, Raine’s hidden gift might be the only way to find her—but that’s only the beginning.

Themes

SupernaturalMissing childrenMiddle schoolsMemorySchools

Quick Assessment

Eighth-grader Raine, the new girl at Yielding Middle School, uses her ability to see other people's memories to investigate the disappearance of a missing teenager, Emily H. The story gives real weight to bullying from a cliquey group of girls, and the mystery of what happened to Emily carries a tense, sometimes frightening tone with supernatural elements. Parents should know the emotional content is the most significant, while physical danger and romance are light and the conclusion is dramatic but resolved.

Why we rated The disappearance of Emily H. LE (Mild)

The disappearance of Emily H. is written at a Level 3 reading level across 245 pages. Reading-wise, most kids in grade 4 and up can manage The disappearance of Emily H. on their own; younger readers can enjoy it with a parent or teacher reading along.

We rate The disappearance of Emily H. 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 disappearance of Emily H. explores supernatural, missing children, middle schools, memory, and schools — 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 supernatural, missing children, middle schools.

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

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

Light conflict or tension. Mild peril resolved quickly.

Data confidence: high

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