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The healing spell

Kimberley Griffiths Little

Cover of The healing spell

The healing spell

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Kimberley Griffiths Little

Reading Level 5 10ME Ages 9-12 Matched

The text is written at a 5th 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

Eleven-year-old Livie feels she caused her mother’s coma and sets off on a brave journey through mysterious Louisiana swamps to find a magical cure. Along the way, she faces her fears and uncovers secrets about family and forgiveness. This heartfelt adventure explores courage and hope in the face of guilt.

Quick Assessment

This is a Level 5 book with moderate content intensity. Content themes include guilt, secrets, coma. Written for readers ages 9-12.

Why we rated The healing spell 10ME

The healing spell is written at a Level 5 reading level with a Lexile measure of 800L across 370 pages (approximately 62,478 words). Strong independent readers around grade 6.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, The healing spell works for readers up to grade 7.0.

Read aloud, The healing spell runs about 7 hours — long enough to span several bedtime sessions.

We rate The healing spell as 10ME ("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 — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.

Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Guilt, Secrets, Coma, Fear & Anxiety.

Thematically, The healing spell explores family, adventure, coming of age, mystery, and social justice — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers. Each of these themes is concrete enough to seed a real conversation, not just a moral lesson.

Good fit for

  • Children in the Ages 9-12 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 family, 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

10ME — Moderate — Emotional
Emotional
Moderate
Physical
Clear
Social
Clear
Thematic
Clear

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

Content Flags

Guilt Secrets Coma Fear & Anxiety
Data confidence: high

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

Reading Insights

Hook Factor

4/10

A steady, thoughtful read that rewards patient readers.

Discussion Potential

5/10

Good conversation starter with themes worth exploring together.

Book DNA

Multi-dimensional content fingerprint

Vocabulary Level
4
Emotional Weight
6
Narrative Pace
5
Theme Richness
9
World Scope
3
Data Confidence
8

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Details

Book Length

370 pages
62,478 words
6h 57m read-aloud
ISBN
9780545165594
Pages
370
Publisher
Scholastic Inc.
Published
2010
Type
Fiction
Word Count
62,478
Lexile
800L
Read-Aloud
~6h 57m
Text Density
Standard

Genres

Subjects

GuiltSecretsComaFamily LifeLouisianaMothers and DaughtersBayousCajunsFamily SecretsFamiliesMother-daughter RelationshipSecrecy

Places

Louisiana