Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

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

Work Song by Ivan Doig

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

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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

Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald

Contains moderate profanity, heavy sexual content and nudity (including rape of a child and same-sex encounters), and heavy violence and gore (including war related violence and abuse of women and children).

Queen Lucia by E.F. Benson

Contains mild profanity.

The Coffee Trader by David Liss

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

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

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

The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale

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

Austenland by Shannon Hale

Contains mild profanity and mild sexual content.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

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

The Violets of March by Sarah Jio

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

Rooftops of Tehran

Contains heavy profanity, mild violence and gore, and mild sexual content. Also contains references to homosexuality and masturbation.

Family Happiness by Leo Tolstoy

Does not contain profanity, violence or gore, or sexual content or nudity.

The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy

Does not contain profanity, violence or gore, or sexual content or nudity.

A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter

Does not contain profanity, violence or gore, or sexual content or nudity.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Contains mild nudity and heavy violence and gore.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Contains mild nudity and heavy violence and gore.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Contains moderate nudity and heavy violence and gore.

The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

Contains no profanity, no sexual content, and moderate violence.

Thanks, Sheri!

The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

Contains no profanity, no sexual content, and moderate violence.

Thanks, Sheri!

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Contains no profanity, no sexual content, and moderate violence.

Thanks, Sheri!

Frostbite by Richelle Mead

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

Thanks, Sheri!

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

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

Thanks, Sheri!

Tall Grass by Sandra Dallas

Contains mild profanity, mild sexual content (rape, but not graphic), and moderate violence.

Thanks, Tansy!

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

Contains moderate profanity, heavy violence and gore, heavy sexual content, and several graphic episodes of suicide.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Contains mild profanity, moderate violence, mild sexual content.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Does not contain any profanity, violence or sexual content.

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

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

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Contains mild profanity and mild violence.

Howard's End by E.M. Forster

Contains mild violence and mild sexual content.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Contains moderate violence.

The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

Contains moderate profanity and heavy violence and gore.

The Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry

Contains mild violence.

Thanks, Cheryl-Lynn!

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Contains mild sexual content and moderate violence and gore.

Thanks, Cheryl-Lynn!

A Bride in the Bargain by Deeanne Gist

Contains mild violence.

Thanks, Cheryl-Lynn!

The Possibility of Everything by Hope Edelman

Contains moderate profanity.

Treasure of the Golden Cheetah by Suzanne Arruda

Contains mild violence.

Thanks, Maryanne!

Becoming Jane Eyre by Sheila Kohler

Does not contain profanity, sexual content, or violence.

Thanks, Maryanne!

Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky by Chris Greenhalgh

Contains moderate sexual content.

Thanks, Maryanne!

What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us by Laura van den Berg

Contains mild sexual content.

Thanks, Maryanne!

Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood

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

Thanks, Patsy!

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Contains moderate violence.

Ines of My Soul by Isabel Allende

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

Sonata for Miriam by Linda Olsson

Contains mild nudity and sexual content, moderate violence, and mild and brief depiction of child abuse.

The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

Contains heavy profanity and mild sexual content.

The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton

Contains moderate profanity and heavy sexual content.

Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns

Contains mild profanity, mild sexual content, moderate violence, and a moderate scene dealing with suicide.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

Contains very mild language, mild violence, briefly alludes to sexuality.

Thanks, Elissa!

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.