Reviewed by HootRated editorial · Last updated
Goin' someplace special
Patricia McKissack
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 intense and may include graphic or distressing scenes. Its HootRating code, IS, means intense content, mostly social.
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About This Book
Segregated Nashville in the 1950s has rules that shut a young African American girl out of almost everywhere, except one place that welcomes her: the public library. Every block she walks toward those doors brings new indignities and obstacles, and each one asks whether she will keep going. Can she make it all the way there, and what will it cost her if she does not?
Quick Assessment
A young African American girl in 1950s Nashville faces humiliating barriers and daily obstacles on her way to the public library, one of the few integrated places in a segregated city. Parents should know that racial discrimination and segregation are central, with characters confronting demeaning treatment, though the tone stays grounded and hopeful. It offers a thoughtful window into civil rights-era history and sparks useful conversations about fairness and dignity.
Why we rated Goin' someplace special IS (Intense)
Goin' someplace special is written at a Level 4-5 reading level across 36 pages. Reading-wise, most kids in grade 6 and up can manage Goin' someplace special on their own.
We rate Goin' someplace special as IS (Intense, mostly social) because the content sits in the "Intense" range — intense conflict including peril, frightening scenes, or emotionally heavy themes. The strongest signals come from social complexity — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.
Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Racial Discrimination, Segregation.
Thematically, Goin' someplace special explores historical, social justice, multicultural, and family — 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 historical, social justice, multicultural.
Maybe not for
- ! Sensitive readers who get overwhelmed by intense conflict or scary scenes.
- ! Children younger than 9 — the content intensity is above what most younger kids can process comfortably.
For Parents
Content Intensity
IS · Intense · SocialReading 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
5/10Good conversation starter with themes worth exploring together.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 0689818858
- Pages
- 36
- Publisher
- Atheneum Books for Young Readers
- Published
- 2000
- Type
- Fiction