Keeping Secrets Keeping Friends
Cindy Savage
Keeping Secrets Keeping Friends
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by Cindy Savage
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
Aimee faces a bold choice: her friends’ club or her new passion with Graham and the studio. When secrets start to pull her apart, she realizes that sometimes, friendship means standing up for what you believe in. But will Aimee’s decision change everything?
Quick Assessment
This middle-grade fiction explores themes of friendship, loyalty, and personal choice as Aimee navigates peer pressure and her own interests. Suitable for ages 9-12, the story addresses social dynamics common to this age group without heavy conflict or mature content. It encourages children to consider the importance of honesty and standing up for themselves.
Why we rated Keeping Secrets Keeping Friends 9LE
Keeping Secrets Keeping Friends is written at a Level 4-5 reading level across 125 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 5.5 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, Keeping Secrets Keeping Friends works for readers up to grade 6.5.
We rate Keeping Secrets Keeping Friends 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, Keeping Secrets Keeping Friends explores friendship, coming of age, and social justice — 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, coming of age, social justice.
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
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
- 9780874064131
- Pages
- 125
- Publisher
- Pages Publishing Group
- Published
- May 1, 1990
- Type
- Fiction