The glass arrow

Name: The glass arrow
Author: Kristen Simmons
ISBN: 9780765336613

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Kristen Simmons

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

What if you lived in a world where girls were treated like objects? Sixteen-year-old Aya was taken from her free mountain home and now faces being sold at an auction. Can she break free and find her way back to the wild before it’s too late?

Themes

Science & Nature Adventure Coming of Age Family Survival

Quick Assessment

Aya, raised in the wilderness, is kidnapped and groomed for sale in a dystopian society where women are treated as property, and her fight to return to her family drives the story. Parents should know it includes child abuse, domestic violence, an abortion, the death of a parent and a dog, kidnapping, a broken bone, and scenes of spitting, vomiting, and snakes. The themes are heavy but handled with a hopeful focus on freedom and survival, making it best suited to mature teen readers.

Why we rated The glass arrow ME (Moderate)

The glass arrow is written at a Level 4-5 reading level across 334 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 glass arrow 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.

No specific content flags were raised by community reviewers, which is consistent with the moderate intensity score.

Thematically, The glass arrow explores science & nature, adventure, coming of age, family, and survival — 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.
✓ Readers ready to talk through themes after they finish — there's enough substance for a meaningful conversation.
✓ Kids drawn to stories about science & nature, adventure, coming of age.

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

Moderate

Social

Mild

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

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

Data confidence: high

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