The girl behind the glass

Name: The girl behind the glass
Author: Jane Kelley
ISBN: 9780375862205

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Jane Kelley

Reading Level 2-3 LE · Mild · Emotional Ages 9-12 Matched

The text is written at a 2nd 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

Hannah and Anna race through their new creaky house, the shadows flickering on the walls. Suddenly, a cold whisper stops them in their tracks—there’s someone else here, someone who’s been waiting for years. What secret is the ghost hiding, and how will it change everything?

Themes

TwinsHousehold MovingSistersGhostsFamily life

Quick Assessment

Eleven-year-old identical twins Hannah and Anna move from Brooklyn to a rental house in the country, where their close bond starts to crack and strange events begin to unfold. The story centers on family strain and loneliness, with eerie ghostly encounters tied to a long-ago quarrel between sisters. Expect suspenseful, spooky scenes and an unsettling sense of anger from the ghost, but no graphic violence or romance, making it a good fit for readers who enjoy chilling mysteries.

Why we rated The girl behind the glass LE (Mild)

The girl behind the glass is written at a Level 2-3 reading level across 183 pages. Reading-wise, most kids in grade 4 and up can manage The girl behind the glass on their own; younger readers can enjoy it with a parent or teacher reading along.

We rate The girl behind the glass 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 girl behind the glass explores twins, household moving, sisters, ghosts, and family life — 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 twins, household moving, sisters.

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?