This analysis was generated by AI from publicly available reader reviews, literary criticism, and book discussions. It has not been verified by a BookLens community reviewer and may contain errors. Be the first to verify →
Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
Some
A girl arrives with a bruise from her mother striking her
Language
None
No profanity is flagged in the review
Sexual Content
Barely any
Only through the adults' failures — a father who leaves with another woman, and offhand references to affairs
Substance Use
Barely any
Many of the adult characters smoke
Emotional Intensity
A lot
Paternal abandonment, physical abuse by a parent, orphanhood, and children convinced they can control adult catastrophe by winning a contest
What this book is about
Common Sense Media rates it 10+ and the flags cluster around family damage rather than danger: "An elderly character dies of natural causes. One of the kids shows up with an ugly bruise on her face because her mom has hit her," plus a character's parents drowning, ghost stories, and a child's mistaken belief about what happens at the animal shelter. Adults smoke a lot. There is no profanity. Raymie's father has just run off with a dental hygienist, and that abandonment drives everything.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
A child hit by her mother
Parental abandonment and a father's affair
A near-drowning and an elderly character's death
Reader Verification
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