How we roll
Natasha Friend
How we roll
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by Natasha Friend
The text is written at a 6th 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
What happens when everything you love about yourself suddenly changes? Quinn’s world flips when she loses all her hair, and her friends don’t stick around. Then she meets Jake, who’s facing his own challenges after a terrible accident—can they help each other find the courage to roll forward?
Themes
Quick Assessment
This middle-grade novel explores themes of self-acceptance and resilience through the stories of Quinn, who experiences alopecia, and Jake, an amputee. It addresses the challenges of friendship, social changes, and young love in a sensitive and age-appropriate way. Suitable for readers aged 9-12, the book offers positive representation of disabilities and the emotional journey of its characters.
Why we rated How we roll 11ME
How we roll is written at a Level 6 reading level across 260 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 7.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, How we roll works for readers up to grade 8.0.
We rate How we roll as 11ME ("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, social complexity — 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, How we roll explores disability representation, friendship, coming of age, self-acceptance, and romance — 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 disability representation, 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
11ME — 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
3/10A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9780374305666
- Pages
- 260
- Publisher
- Macmillan + ORM
- Published
- 2018
- Type
- Fiction