Marisol

Name: Marisol
Author: Gary Soto
ISBN: 1584859725

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

Marisol. Book 1

by Gary Soto

Reading Level 4-5 LE · Mild · Emotional Ages 9-12 Balanced Read

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. Its HootRating code, LE, means mild content, mostly emotional.

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About This Book

What happens when your whole world starts to move — but your dreams want to stay put? Marisol loves to dance, and now she’s facing a big change: her family is moving away. Can she find a way to keep dancing even when everything else feels different?

Themes

Friendship Family Coming of AgeDanceMulticultural

Quick Assessment

After her family moves from a busy Chicago neighborhood to the suburbs, a lively 10-year-old dancer must find a way to keep training when the new studio closes. Her friendships, including one with a former Rockette who stresses the value of hard work, drive the story. Content is gentle, with mild stress over moving and leaving home, and no notable violence, romance, or peril, making it an easy pick for talks about change and perseverance.

Why we rated Marisol LE (Mild)

Marisol is written at a Level 4-5 reading level across 147 pages. Reading-wise, most kids in grade 6 and up can manage Marisol on their own; younger readers can enjoy it with a parent or teacher reading along.

We rate Marisol as LE (Mild, mostly 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, Marisol explores friendship, family, coming of age, dance, and multicultural — 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.
✓ Readers ready to talk through themes after they finish — there's enough substance for a meaningful conversation.
✓ Kids drawn to stories about friendship, family, coming of age.

Maybe not for

! Readers looking for something heavier — this is a gentle, low-stakes story by design.

For Parents

Content Intensity

LE · Mild · Emotional

Emotional

Mild ←

Physical

Gentle

Social

Mild

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

Light conflict or tension. Mild peril resolved quickly.

Data confidence: high

Was our "Mild" content intensity rating accurate for this book?