The secret life of Lincoln Jones

Name: The secret life of Lincoln Jones
Author: Wendelin Van Draanen
ISBN: 9781101940402

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Wendelin Van Draanen

Reading Level 4-5 LE · Mild · Emotional Ages 9-12 Balanced Read

The text is written at a 4th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), and the content is mild with minimal sensitive material. Its HootRating code, LE, means mild content, mostly emotional.

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About This Book

The creak of Lincoln's notebook pages echoes like a secret spell, weaving tales of psychic vampires, wheelchair zombies, and a one-eyed cat prowling the shadows. Yet, the real mystery lurks in the halls of his new school, where a curious sixth grader named Kandi Kain won't stop chasing the truth about Lincoln's hidden world. As the stories and reality collide, Lincoln faces a new kind of bravery—the courage to be himself.

Themes

Friendship Family Coming of Age HumorChild Authors

Quick Assessment

This middle-grade novel follows Lincoln Jones, a boy who escapes into his vivid stories to cope with the complexities of real life and new school challenges. The book gently explores themes of friendship, family dynamics, and personal growth, suitable for readers aged 9 to 12. While lighthearted and humorous, it also offers poignant reflections on courage and self-discovery, with no content concerns for this age group.

Why we rated The secret life of Lincoln Jones LE (Mild)

The secret life of Lincoln Jones is written at a Level 4-5 reading level across 262 pages. Reading-wise, most kids in grade 6 and up can manage The secret life of Lincoln Jones on their own; younger readers can enjoy it with a parent or teacher reading along.

We rate The secret life of Lincoln Jones as LE (Mild, mostly emotional) because the content sits in the "Mild" range — mild conflict — the kind a child encounters in normal play and sibling life. Across our four dimensions (emotional, physical, social, thematic) the book reads as evenly mild; no single dimension stands out as a concern.

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

Thematically, The secret life of Lincoln Jones explores friendship, family, coming of age, humor, and child authors — 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.
✓ Kids drawn to stories about friendship, family, coming of age.

Maybe not for

! Readers looking for something heavier — this is a gentle, low-stakes story by design.

For Parents

Content Intensity

LE · Mild · Emotional

Emotional

Mild ←

Physical

Gentle

Social

Gentle

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

Light conflict or tension. Mild peril resolved quickly.

Data confidence: high

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