Reviewed by HootRated editorial · Last updated
The Six
Mark Alpert
The Six
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by Mark Alpert
The text is written at a 4th 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
The sharp buzz of machines fills the air as cold metal brushes against skin—only this time, the skin belongs to a powerful robot. Imagine feeling every whir and click inside your new mechanical body, knowing the fate of the world depends on mastering it. But with danger lurking and time running out, can six brave teens become heroes beyond their wildest dreams?
Themes
Quick Assessment
Adam, who has muscular dystrophy, spends his days in virtual reality until a rogue artificial intelligence called Sigma tries to kill him and threatens to take over the world. To stop it, he and five other terminally ill teens transfer their minds into weaponized robots and train for intense battles. Expect sci-fi combat, peril, and sustained themes of terminal illness, physical disability, and self-sacrifice, handled with a hopeful, friendship-driven focus rather than graphic detail.
Why we rated The Six ME (Moderate)
The Six is written at a Level 4-5 reading level across 373 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 Six 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 Six explores science & nature, adventure, friendship, disability representation, and artificial intelligence — 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 science & nature, 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 · EmotionalReading 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.
Was our "Moderate" content intensity rating accurate for this book?
Reading Insights
Discussion Potential
2/10A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9781492615293
- Pages
- 373
- Publisher
- Sourcebooks Fire
- Published
- 7 July 2015
- Type
- Fiction