Exactly how steamy is this story?
PG-13
Sex in the book is kind of a weird topic. It's not overt—we don't get any hot and heavy details and Jack is apparently still a virgin when the book ends—but things get a little steamy here and there. For example, Jack watches The Mickey Mouse Club, and has "a serious bone on for Annette." (5.20) He gets additional serious bones on for additional girls, as do his friends. Once of them, Chuck, gets in trouble for getting fifteen-year-old Tina Flood pregnant, and Tina "just wanted Chuck to marry him." (27.2) We don't get the sex, but we get the build-up and the messy, crying marriage-inducing consequences. So yeah, PG-13 feels right about the pace. (Ironically, the movie of This Boy's Life is rated R, but we give teenagers a little more credit than the ratings board.)