The Safe Pages Rating
Romance
There is some romance in The Nightingale. One sister is married, but her husband is gone for most of the book. The other sister has a relationship throughout the book. There is an implied physical relationship, but no graphic scenes. At the very least, the romance scenes can be easily skipped as they are only a page or so.
Violence
There is more implied violence than graphic violence, but there are still several unsettling scenes. One of the main characters goes through implied rape when her husband is gone. The other character is taken as a prisoner and treated poorly. There are some scenes of killing, but they are not descriptive. The violence is expected for a World War II novel.
Language
There are some swear words throughout the book, but not any of the strong words. The language was mild, which is something that I appreciate about Kristen Hannah’s books.
Drugs and Alcohol
There is not much alcohol throughout the book because the main characters do not have a lot of access to it.
Diversity
There are a lot of strong female characters throughout the book. Because the book takes place in France, most of the characters are French. There are some German and Jewish characters as well.
Demographic
Because of the war content, I would recommend this to someone who is in at least high school. If someone is more sensitive to war topics and implied rape, they may want to avoid the book or have a conversation about it beforehand. The reading level would be appropriate for a high schooler as well.
I loved this book. It was the first Kristen Hannah book that I had ever read, and I was saddened that I had never read one of her books before! The women characters were strong and wonderful. It was especially emotional for me as I have a younger sister, and I tend to be the most scheduled and careful one and she is more carefree and riskier, which is a lot like the sisters in the book.
The characters are the main driving force behind the book. I have heard some criticize how the beginning is slow, but a lot of it builds the characters for the rest of the story. Most Kristen Hannah books are character-driven which can impact the speed of the story. If anyone is struggling to get through the beginning, keep reading! It gets good.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Nightingale and have recommended it to a lot of people. Everyone that I know who has read the book has loved it!
The Safe Pages Rating System
Content Unsuitable
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Safe Pages Approved!