Clear standards
Book content ratings built on a consistent, transparent rubric.
1. Language & Profanity
Measured by the frequency and severity of profanity, vulgarity, and slurs.
- 0 – None: No profanity or vulgarity present.
- 1 – Mild: Infrequent use (1–5 instances total) of mild profanity (e.g., hell, damn, crap). No use of the s-word, f-word, or slurs.
- 2 – Moderate: Frequent use (>5 instances) of mild profanity. Infrequent use of moderate profanity (e.g., shit, bitch, bastard). Deity used as a curse.
- 3 – Severe: Frequent use of moderate profanity. Any use of severe profanity (e.g., fuck, cunt), explicit sexual vulgarity, or targeted hate speech and slurs.
2. Violence & Gore
Measured by the level of detail, intent, and explicit description of physical harm.
- 0 – None: No violence. Conflict is entirely non-physical.
- 1 – Mild: Violence is implied or happens off-page. Comedic, cartoonish, or historical/fantasy violence without blood or injury details.
- 2 – Moderate: On-page physical altercations (e.g., punching, tackling). Weapons may be used, but descriptions of wounds are brief and non-graphic. Mentions of blood but no detailed gore.
- 3 – Severe: Detailed, on-page descriptions of physical assault or injuries. Graphic descriptions of blood, broken bones, trauma, gore, mutilation, or sexual assault.
3. Sexual Content & Nudity (The Spice Scale)
Measured by the explicitness of physical intimacy and anatomical descriptions.
- 0 – None: Hand-holding, hugging, or chaste kissing only. No nudity.
- 1 – Sweet (Mild): Passionate kissing (making out) without detailed physical descriptions. References to sexual attraction. Non-sexual nudity described vaguely.
- 2 – Closed Door (Moderate): Heavy physical intimacy (touching over clothes). Sexual encounters are implied to happen off-page ("fade to black"). References to arousal without explicit anatomical terms.
- 3 – Open Door (Explicit): On-page sexual encounters. Descriptions of touching under clothes, explicit step-by-step sexual acts, and the use of explicit anatomical terms for genitalia.
4. Substance Abuse
Measured by the usage of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs, and their depiction/consequences.
- 0 – None: No mention of alcohol, tobacco, or drugs.
- 1 – Mild: Adult characters consume alcohol or tobacco in the background. Substances are present but not the focus of the scene.
- 2 – Moderate: Underage characters consume alcohol or tobacco. Adult characters consume illegal substances without graphic detail.
- 3 – Severe: Main/underage characters consume illegal/hard drugs on-page. Frequent, detailed descriptions of underage binge drinking. Graphic drug use or glorification of substance abuse.