Anywhere but Paradise

Name: Anywhere but Paradise
Author: Anne Bustard
ISBN: 9781606845851

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Anne Bustard

Reading Level 3 ME · Moderate · Emotional Ages 9-12 Heads Up

The text is written at a 3rd grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), and the content has moderate intensity with some emotionally heavy themes. Its HootRating code, ME, means moderate content, mostly emotional.

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About This Book

Peggy Sue is about to face the toughest challenge of her life—not just a new school, but a whole new world where being different can be scary. Bullied for being one of the few white kids, she has to find bravery in a place filled with strange customs and unexpected dangers. Can she survive 'kill haole day' and a sudden tsunami? Everything she thought she knew is about to change.

Themes

BullyingFriendship Family Historical Multicultural

Quick Assessment

Peggy Sue, a 12-year-old who moves from Texas to Hawaii in 1960, faces racial bullying from an older student who threatens her because she is white, along with pressure from a school project and loneliness in a new place. The story later turns to a tsunami that leaves Peggy Sue unconscious and her parents missing, so the peril and emotional worry are real but handled with hope and friendship. It suits readers who can discuss racism, fear, and family separation with an adult nearby.

Why we rated Anywhere but Paradise ME (Moderate)

Anywhere but Paradise is written at a Level 3 reading level across 288 pages. Reading-wise, most kids in grade 4 and up can manage Anywhere but Paradise on their own; younger readers can enjoy it with a parent or teacher reading along.

We rate Anywhere but Paradise as ME (Moderate, mostly 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, physical peril, social complexity — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.

Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Bullying, Natural Disaster.

Thematically, Anywhere but Paradise explores bullying, friendship, family, historical, and multicultural — 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 9-12 range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
✓ Readers ready to talk through themes after they finish — there's enough substance for a meaningful conversation.
✓ Kids drawn to stories about bullying, friendship, family.

Maybe not for

! Readers who get easily upset by emotional or moderately dark scenes — the conflict here is real, not just background flavor.

For Parents

Content Intensity

ME · Moderate · Emotional

Emotional

Moderate ←

Physical

Moderate

Social

Moderate

Thematic

Mild

Reading the HootRating code: the first letter is the content intensity (C = Gentle · L = Mild · M = Moderate · I = Intense · V = Very Intense); the second, when there is one, is the kind of content that drives it (E = Emotional · P = Physical · S = Social · T = Thematic). Reading level and age range are rated separately. How we rate

Real stakes and emotional weight. May include sustained danger, loss, or bullying.