War Games

Name: War Games
Author: Jacqueline Guest
ISBN: 9781552770351

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Jacqueline Guest

SideStreets

Reading Level 5-6 MP · Moderate · Physical Ages 13+ Matched Page-Turner

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, MP, means moderate content, mostly physical.

Find on Amazon Listen on Audible

We may earn a commission from these links.

About This Book

When Ryan Taber steps into a tangled web of secrets and threats, he must navigate a dangerous game where trust is scarce and every move counts. Facing challenges that test his courage and wits, Ryan's journey reveals the true cost of deception.

Themes

Adventure Coming of Age Mystery

Quick Assessment

This is a Level 5-6 book with moderate content intensity. Content themes include physical danger, mild peril. Written for readers ages 13+.

Why we rated War Games MP (Moderate)

War Games is written at a Level 5-6 reading level across 184 pages (approximately 37,604 words). 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.

Read aloud, War Games runs about 4.2 hours — long enough to span several bedtime sessions.

We rate War Games as MP (Moderate, mostly physical) because the content sits in the "Moderate" range — moderate conflict that may involve loss, scary scenes, or interpersonal stakes. The strongest signals come from physical peril — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.

Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Physical Danger, Mild Peril.

Thematically, War Games explores adventure, coming of age, and mystery — 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.
✓ Reluctant readers who need fast-paced, hook-heavy stories to stay engaged.
✓ Kids drawn to stories about adventure, coming of age, mystery.
✓ Readers who fall hard for one book and want a long series to live in — there are 5 more books in the SideStreets series.

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

MP · Moderate · Physical

Emotional

Gentle

Physical

Moderate ←

Social

Gentle

Thematic

Gentle

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.