Call It What You Want
Brigid Kemmerer
Call It What You Want
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by Brigid Kemmerer
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
Rob used to be the star of the lacrosse team, but now everyone sees him as the kid whose dad made a huge mistake. Maegan seems perfect on the outside, but she’s hiding secrets that could change everything. When these two are paired for a project, their walls start to crumble—but fixing one problem might just create another.
Themes
Quick Assessment
This middle-grade novel explores complex themes of family struggles, personal secrets, and the gray areas between right and wrong. It deals with topics such as mental health, responsibility, and social challenges in a school setting, making it suitable for readers aged 9-12 who can handle nuanced emotional content. Parents should be aware of themes including parental illness, social ostracism, and ethical dilemmas.
Why we rated Call It What You Want 12ME
Call It What You Want is written at a Level 7 reading level across 384 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 8.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, Call It What You Want works for readers up to grade 9.0.
We rate Call It What You Want as 12ME ("Moderate — 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.
No specific content flags were raised by community reviewers, which is consistent with the moderate intensity score.
Thematically, Call It What You Want explores family, friendship, coming of age, schools, and people with disabilities — 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 family, friendship, coming of age.
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
12ME — Moderate — 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
4/10Good conversation starter with themes worth exploring together.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9781681198125
- Pages
- 384
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury YA
- Published
- 2020
- Type
- Fiction