The Forgetting

Name: The Forgetting
Author: Sharon Cameron
ISBN: 9780545945219

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Sharon Cameron

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

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

The sharp scent of smoke fills the air as Canaan erupts into chaos every twelve years, shattering its peaceful walls with bursts of wild, bloody violence. But then, like magic, everyone forgets everything—their names, their families, their lives—except for Nadia. She’s the only one who remembers, and her heart races with the desperate hope of stopping the Forgetting forever.

Themes

Science & Nature Mystery Adventure Coming of AgeConspiracy

Quick Assessment

Seventeen-year-old Nadia lives in a walled city where every twelve years a violent upheaval wipes out everyone's memories, and she alone keeps hers while searching for the cause. Expect bloody violence, a mass loss of memory that carries real emotional weight, and a mild romance. The story is a mystery with a science-fiction setting and suits mature young readers who enjoy thoughtful, suspenseful plots.

Why we rated The Forgetting ME (Moderate)

The Forgetting is written at a Level 4-5 reading level across 403 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 Forgetting 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: Mild Peril, Fantasy Violence, Fear & Anxiety.

Thematically, The Forgetting explores science & nature, mystery, adventure, coming of age, and conspiracy — 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, mystery, adventure.

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

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.