Anything you want
Geoff Herbach
Anything you want
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by Geoff Herbach
The text is written at a 7th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for teens (ages 13+), and the content has moderate intensity with some emotionally heavy themes.
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About This Book
What if the best day of your life suddenly turned upside down? Taco's world shifts when his mom dies and his dad moves away, but then Maggie says yes to prom. Now, with a baby on the way, can Taco figure out what it really means to be a family?
Quick Assessment
This young adult novel explores themes of family loss, teenage pregnancy, and the challenges of growing up. Suitable for ages 13 and older, it sensitively addresses complex social issues while portraying a realistic journey of responsibility and love. Parents should be aware of mature themes including grief and teen parenthood.
Why we rated Anything you want 12IE
Anything you want is written at a Level 7 reading level across 302 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 8.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, Anything you want works for readers up to grade 9.0.
We rate Anything you want as 12IE ("Intense — Emotional") because the content sits in the "Moderate" range — moderate conflict that may involve loss, scary scenes, or interpersonal stakes. The strongest signals come from emotional weight, social complexity, thematic difficulty — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.
No specific content flags were raised by community reviewers, which is consistent with the moderate intensity score.
Thematically, Anything you want explores family, coming of age, romance, and social justice — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers. Each of these themes is concrete enough to seed a real conversation, not just a moral lesson.
Good fit for
- ✓ Children in the Ages 13+ range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
- ✓ Patient readers who enjoy slower, character-driven stories.
- ✓ Readers ready to talk through themes after they finish — there's enough substance for a meaningful conversation.
- ✓ Kids drawn to stories about family, coming of age, romance.
Maybe not for
- ! Readers who get easily upset by emotional or moderately dark scenes — the conflict here is real, not just background flavor.
- ! Reluctant readers who need a fast hook — the pacing here rewards patience.
For Parents
Content Intensity
12IE — Intense — EmotionalReal stakes and emotional weight. May include sustained danger, loss, or bullying.
Was our "Moderate" content intensity rating accurate for this book?
Reading Insights
Hook Factor
1/10A steady, thoughtful read that rewards patient readers.
Discussion Potential
5/10Good conversation starter with themes worth exploring together.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9781402291449
- Pages
- 302
- Publisher
- Sourcebooks, Inc.
- Published
- 2016
- Type
- Fiction