The Lightkeeper's Daughter by Colleen Coble

Contains mild violence.

Thanks, Cheryl-Lynn!

The Search for Delicious by Natalie Babbitt

Contains mild violence.

Thanks, Cheryl-Lynn!

Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo

Contains mild sexual content.

Thanks, Patsy!

Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

Contains mild violence.

The Sweet By and By by Todd Johnson

Contains moderate profanity, and mild sexual content.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Contains mild sexual content (implied about the mother)and mild violence (handled appropriately for young readers).

Thanks, Patsy!

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Contains mild profanity, moderate sexual content and nudity, and moderate violence.

Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas

Contains mild profanity, mild sexual content and moderate violence.

Thanks, Elissa!

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Contains moderate profanity, moderate/heavy sexual content, and mild violence.

Thanks, Elissa and Cheryl-Lynn!

Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck

Contains mild profanity, mild sexual content, and moderate violence.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

Contaings moderate profanity, moderate sexual content, and mild violence.

Thanks, Melanie!

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

Contains mild sexual content (implied but very, very discreet 19th century sort of way), and moderate violence.

Thanks, Melanie!

Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman

Contains mild profanity.

Thanks, Melanie!

The Power and the Glory by Graham Green

Contains mild profanity, mild sexual content, and mild violence.

Thanks, Melanie!

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Contains mild sexual content and moderate violence.

Thanks, Melanie!

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Contains mild profanity and moderate violence.

Thanks, Melanie!

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

Contains mild nudity and moderate violence related to WWII concentration camps.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Heavy profanity (mostly German swearwords and Diety) and mild violence (mentions beatings and many deaths, but nothing graphic).

Thanks, Mary W!

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Contains moderate profanity, moderate nudity, and moderate violence.

Thanks, Mary W!

The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale

Contains mild profanity and mild sexual content.

The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner

Contains mild violence.

Thanks, Cheryl-Lynn!

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Contains moderate profanity, moderate nudity, and moderate violence.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Contains mild profanity, heavy sexual content, and moderate violence.

Thanks, Melanie!

Atonement by Ian McEwan

Contains moderate/heavy profanity (stronger in content than in frequency), heavy sexual content, and mild violence.

Thanks, Melanie!

The Professor's House by Willa Cather

Contains mild profanity.

Thanks, Melanie!

The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages

Contains mild profanity.

Thanks, Melanie!

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

Contains mild profanity, mild sexual content, and mild violence.

Thanks, Melanie!

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Contains moderate profanity, mild sexual content and mild violence. If I remember correctly, there wasn't a lot of explicit sexual detail, but there were frequent references to sex. Definitely a book for adults in subject matter.

Thanks, Melanie!

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Contains moderate profanity, moderate sexual content, and moderate violence.

Thanks, Melanie!

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

Does not contain profanity, sexual content, or violence.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Contains heavy profanity, mild sexual content, and moderate violence.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Contains mild profanity, moderate sexual content, and moderate violence.

Thanks, Sarah!

Sum: 40 Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman

Does not contain profanity, sexual content, or violence.

The Blonde Lady by Maurice LeBlanc

Contains mild violence.

Thanks, Maryanne!

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa

Does not contain profanity, sexual content, or violence.

Thanks, Maryanne!

The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde

Does not contain profanity, sexual content, or violence.

Thanks, Maryanne!

Horns by Joe Hill

Contains heavy violence, moderate profanity.

The Humbling by Phillip Roth

Contains graphic sexual content.

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Contains moderate violence, racist (but historically accurate) language.

Thanks, Maryanne!

The Wild Things by David Eggers

Contains mild violence.

Thanks, Maryanne!

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson

Contains moderate profanity, heavy sexual content, heavy violence.

Ilorich by Steven Brust

Contains moderate violence.

Thanks, Maryanne!

The House of Lost Souls by F.G. Cottam

Contains heavy sexual content and moderate violence. Also contains mild descriptions of child abuse.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Contains moderate profanity and moderate violence.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Contains mild violence.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Contains mild violence.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Does not contain any profanity, sexual content, or violence.

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Does not contain any profanity, sexual content, or violence.

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

Contains mild sexual content.

What's Book X-Ray?

Have you been hearing all the buzz about the latest book, but are unsure if it contains things you'd rather not read? Book X-Ray can help. Has a friend ever recommended a book to you, but neglected to mention that one scene that you wish you'd never read? Let Book X-Ray pass it on. Are the books on your kid's high school reading list, or the titles suggested for your book club, appropriate? Book X-Ray is a site that will tell you if a book contains any of those objectionable things in a brief, unbiased, and easy to access manner. There are a million reasons why a reader would choose to not read certain material at a given time, and Book X-Ray gives them the power to make an informed decision.

What this site is not: It is not a place for full-fledged book reviews. It is not a book recommendation site, although you will probably discover books you want to read listed here. It is not a listing of books that only prudes would want to read, although prudes will find this site immensely helpful for finding books. It is not a site that promotes censorship in any form.

Book X-Ray is a reader-driven site...in other words, it wouldn't exist without you! We rely completely on regular book lovers who are willing to help out their fellow readers by adding short reviews of what they've read. These reviews help all of us to read exactly the kinds of books we want to read. Life is too short--and there are far too many great books waiting--to live with Reader's Regret.