The lost sun

Name: The lost sun
Author: Tessa Gratton
ISBN: 9780307977465

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Tessa Gratton

Reading Level 5-6 ME · Moderate · Emotional Ages 13+ Matched

The text is written at a 5th 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 the sun disappeared and the whole country was thrown into darkness? Imagine traveling across a strange land filled with gods and magic to find the missing Baldur before everything falls apart. Soren and Astrid must race against time, but can they succeed when fate itself seems against them?

Themes

Norse MythologyAdventure FriendshipFate and FatalismFantasy World-Building

Quick Assessment

Soren Bearskin and Astrid Glyn set out on a cross-country road trip to find Baldur, a missing god whose disappearance has thrown the country into panic. Their journey is driven by Soren's fear that he has inherited his father's berserker rage, which led to the deaths of thirteen people, so expect fantasy violence, fevers and rage episodes, and some romantic tension. It is best suited to older teen readers who can handle its heavier themes of family legacy, fate, and identity.

Why we rated The lost sun ME (Moderate)

The lost sun is written at a Level 5-6 reading level across 352 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 lost sun 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, thematic difficulty — 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 lost sun explores norse mythology, adventure, friendship, fate and fatalism, and fantasy world-building — 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 norse mythology, adventure, friendship.

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

Gentle

Thematic

Moderate

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?