The plague
Joanne Dahme
The plague
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by Joanne Dahme
The text is written at a 6th 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
Nell looks exactly like Princess Joan, but she’s no princess. When the Black Prince asks her to trick Prince Pedro into marriage, she steps into a dangerous game where trust can be deadly—and the stakes are life and death.
Quick Assessment
Set in plague-ridden 14th-century Europe, this historical fiction follows 15-year-old Nell, who must impersonate royalty to navigate political deception. Suitable for middle-grade readers, the novel explores themes of identity, survival, and historical hardship with some dark and intense moments related to disease and danger.
Why we rated The plague 11ME
The plague is written at a Level 6 reading level across 272 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 7.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, The plague works for readers up to grade 8.0.
We rate The plague as 11ME ("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, 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 plague explores historical, adventure, identity & self-discovery, and survival — 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.
- ✓ Patient readers who enjoy slower, character-driven stories.
- ✓ Kids drawn to stories about historical, adventure, identity & self-discovery.
Maybe not for
- ! Readers who get easily upset by emotional or moderately dark scenes — the conflict here is real, not just background flavor.
- ! Reluctant readers who need a fast hook — the pacing here rewards patience.
For Parents
Content Intensity
11ME — Moderate — EmotionalReal stakes and emotional weight. May include sustained danger, loss, or bullying.
Was our "Moderate" content intensity rating accurate for this book?
Reading Insights
Hook Factor
2/10A steady, thoughtful read that rewards patient readers.
Discussion Potential
3/10A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9780762433445
- Pages
- 272
- Publisher
- Running Press Kids
- Published
- 2009
- Type
- Fiction