This book series has caught my kids imaginations! There is some violence but not graphic and it's not the main event. The main event is Septimus a young boy finding out and accepting who he is. He finds himself on an adventure discovering his talents and using them to the best of his ability. The main characters show strong friendships and family relationship throughout this series. The series does get a little darker with each book. But unlike the Harry Potter series each subsequent book remains age appropriate from beginning to end. Angie Sage just finished last book in the series so now is a good time to start reading all the books without the painful wait for the next one. In my family it was indeed a painful wait!