Choosing Sides
Alex Morgan
Choosing Sides
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by Alex Morgan
The text is written at a 4th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), and the content is mild with minimal sensitive material.
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About This Book
Devin has a secret superpower: she can help any soccer team get better—even if it means helping her biggest rivals! But when her own team starts to think she’s choosing sides, Devin has to find a way to keep the peace. Can she save her friendships and show everyone what teamwork really means?
Themes
Quick Assessment
Choosing Sides follows Devin, a passionate soccer player who faces challenges when she helps a rival team improve, causing tension with her own teammates. This middle-grade novel explores themes of friendship, loyalty, and sportsmanship, suitable for readers ages 9-12. Parents should know it addresses common social dynamics in school and sports settings without intense conflict.
Why we rated Choosing Sides 9LE
Choosing Sides is written at a Level 4-5 reading level across 128 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 5.5 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, Choosing Sides works for readers up to grade 6.5.
We rate Choosing Sides as 9LE ("Light — Emotional") because the content sits in the "Mild" range — mild conflict — the kind a child encounters in normal play and sibling life. Across our four dimensions (emotional, physical, social, thematic) the book reads as evenly mild; no single dimension stands out as a concern.
No specific content flags were raised by community reviewers, which is consistent with the mild intensity score.
Thematically, Choosing Sides explores friendship, sports, schools, and conduct of life — 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.
- ✓ Kids drawn to stories about friendship, sports, schools.
Maybe not for
- ! Reluctant readers who need a fast hook — the pacing here rewards patience.
For Parents
Content Intensity
9LE — Light — EmotionalLight conflict or tension. Mild peril resolved quickly.
Was our "Mild" content intensity rating accurate for this book?
Reading Insights
Hook Factor
2/10A steady, thoughtful read that rewards patient readers.
Discussion Potential
1/10A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9781481481571
- Pages
- 128
- Publisher
- Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
- Published
- 2019
- Type
- Fiction