What reading level is The Romantics?

The Romantics by Leah Konen is at a Level 4-5 reading level (Lexile 780L). Recommended for Upper Grades readers (Ages 13+).

What age is The Romantics appropriate for?

The Romantics is recommended for Ages 13+. HootRating: 9VE (Vivid — Emotional). Content flags: Alcohol Abuse, Sexual Content, Death, Gaslighting, Ghosts, Hospital Scene.

What genre is The Romantics?

The Romantics is fiction — Young Adult Fiction.

Does The Romantics have any content warnings?

The Romantics has a HootRating of 9VE (Vivid — Emotional). Content flags include: Alcohol Abuse, Sexual Content, Death, Gaslighting, Ghosts, Hospital Scene. On HootRated, every book is rated across four dimensions — emotional, physical, social, and thematic — to help parents make informed choices.

How many pages is The Romantics?

The Romantics by Leah Konen is 321 pages.

Reviewed by HootRated editorial · Last updated June 9, 2026

The Romantics

Leah Konen

The Romantics

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Leah Konen

Reading Level 4-5 9VE Ages 13+ Heads Up

The text is written at a 4th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for teens (ages 13+), and the content is very intense with mature or graphic material.

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About This Book

Love can be both magical and messy, especially when your family is falling apart. Gael’s world is flipped upside down by heartbreak, ghosts, and secrets that won’t stay buried. How do you find yourself again when everything you thought was real starts to crumble?

Themes

LoveFamily Coming of Age MysterySupernatural

Quick Assessment

This young adult novel explores the emotional challenges of a teenager dealing with heartbreak and family divorce, alongside supernatural and mature themes, including alcohol abuse and sexual content. It addresses complex issues such as grief, gaslighting, and infidelity, making it suitable for older teens who can handle emotionally intense material. Parents should be aware of the presence of ghosts, hospital scenes, and the death of significant characters within the story.

Why we rated The Romantics 9VE

The Romantics is written at a Level 4-5 reading level with a Lexile measure of 780L across 321 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 5.5 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, The Romantics works for readers up to grade 6.5.

We rate The Romantics as 9VE ("Vivid — Emotional") because the content sits in the "Very Intense" range — very intense or graphic content — peril, violence, trauma, or mature themes treated head-on. The strongest signals come from emotional weight, physical peril, social complexity, thematic difficulty — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.

Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Alcohol Abuse, Sexual Content, Death, Gaslighting, Ghosts, Hospital Scene.

Thematically, The Romantics explores love, family, coming of age, mystery, and supernatural — 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.
✓ Patient readers who enjoy slower, character-driven stories.
✓ Kids drawn to stories about love, family, coming of age.

Maybe not for

! Sensitive readers who get overwhelmed by intense conflict or scary scenes.
! Children younger than 13+ — the content intensity is above what most younger kids can process comfortably.
! Children currently coping with grief — the themes may hit close to home.
! Reluctant readers who need a fast hook — the pacing here rewards patience.