Hello, goodbye, and everything in between

Name: Hello, goodbye, and everything in between
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
ISBN: 9780316334426

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Jennifer E. Smith

Reading Level 5-6 IE · Intense · Emotional Ages 13+ Heads Up

The text is written at a 5th 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

As college looms, Clare and Aidan spend one last night retracing their journey together, searching for answers about their future. Through familiar places and heartfelt conversations, they confront the memories and emotions that define their relationship. With time slipping away, they must decide if their farewell is just temporary or final.

Themes

LoveDatingComing of Age Family Friendship

Quick Assessment

This is a Level 5-6 book with intense content intensity. Content themes include abandonment, sexual content, anxiety. Written for readers ages 13+.

Why we rated Hello, goodbye, and everything in between IE (Intense)

Hello, goodbye, and everything in between is written at a Level 5-6 reading level across 248 pages (approximately 57,851 words). 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.

Read aloud, Hello, goodbye, and everything in between runs about 6.4 hours — long enough to span several bedtime sessions.

We rate Hello, goodbye, and everything in between 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 — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.

Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Abandonment, Sexual Content, Anxiety, Hospital Scene.

Thematically, Hello, goodbye, and everything in between explores love, dating, coming of age, family, and friendship — 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 love, dating, coming of age.

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 · Emotional

Emotional

Intense ←

Physical

Gentle

Social

Gentle

Thematic

Gentle

Reading 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.