Reviewed by HootRated editorial · Last updated
Dime
E. R. Frank
Dime
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by E. R. Frank
The text is written at a 4th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for teens (ages 13+), and the content is intense and may include graphic or distressing scenes. Its HootRating code, IE, means intense content, mostly emotional.
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About This Book
The sharp scent of city rain mixes with the cold pavement beneath Dime's feet as she navigates the streets of Newark. Each step echoes the hard truths of her life, but also the faint hope of finding a place to belong. Can she find the courage to change her story before the night closes in?
Themes
Quick Assessment
Dime follows a foster teen in Newark who is drawn into prostitution by a man who offers her affection and belonging, and who must decide whether she can break free when that bond starts to fall apart. Written for an adult market and best suited to mature teens, it deals directly with sexual exploitation, coercive control, neglect in foster care, and the emotional damage of manipulation, so parents should be ready to discuss these themes. The story is unflinching but focused on Dime's inner life and her struggle to recognize what is happening to her.
Why we rated Dime IE (Intense)
Dime is written at a Level 4-5 reading level across 315 pages. Upper Grades (Ages 13+) is the typical interest range for this book — readers in that age band have the maturity and attention span suited to the story, separate from whether they can decode the words.
We rate Dime as IE (Intense, mostly emotional) because the content sits in the "Intense" range — intense conflict including peril, frightening scenes, or emotionally heavy themes. The strongest signals come from emotional weight, physical peril, social complexity, thematic difficulty — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.
Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Teenage Prostitution, Foster Care Challenges.
Thematically, Dime explores families, foster children, juvenile fiction, and survival — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers.
Good fit for
- ✓ Children in the Ages 13+ range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
- ✓ Kids drawn to stories about families, foster children, juvenile fiction.
Maybe not for
- ! Sensitive readers who get overwhelmed by intense conflict or scary scenes.
- ! Children younger than 13 — the content intensity is above what most younger kids can process comfortably.
For Parents
Content Intensity
IE · Intense · EmotionalReading 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
Heavy themes explored in depth. War, death, abuse addressed directly.
Content Flags
Was our "Intense" content intensity rating accurate for this book?
Reading Insights
Discussion Potential
1/10A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9781481431606
- Pages
- 315
- Publisher
- Simon and Schuster
- Published
- 2015
- Type
- Fiction