Burn down the ground
Kambri Crews
Burn down the ground
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
A Memoir
by Kambri Crews
The text is written at a 7th 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.
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About This Book
What is it like to grow up different from everyone around you? Imagine living in a world where your parents can’t hear, and where fear sometimes fills your home. How does a young girl find hope and strength when her father is taken away for a violent crime?
Themes
Quick Assessment
This middle-grade memoir explores the challenging childhood of a hearing girl raised by deaf parents within a hearing-impaired community. It sensitively addresses themes of family struggles, domestic abuse, and the impact of a parent's incarceration over two decades. Suitable for ages 9-12, the book offers an honest look at resilience in difficult circumstances, with some content that may require parental guidance.
Why we rated Burn down the ground 12IE
Burn down the ground is written at a Level 7 reading level across 334 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 8.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, Burn down the ground works for readers up to grade 9.0.
We rate Burn down the ground 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, thematic difficulty — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.
Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Domestic Abuse, Parental Incarceration.
Thematically, Burn down the ground explores children of deaf parents, biography, family, and identity & self-discovery — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers.
Good fit for
- ✓ Children in the Ages 9-12 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 children of deaf parents, biography, family.
- ✓ Curious kids who prefer real-world topics over made-up stories.
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.
Content Flags
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
4/10Good conversation starter with themes worth exploring together.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9780345516022
- Pages
- 334
- Publisher
- Villard Books
- Published
- 2011
- Type
- Nonfiction