Pushin'

Name: Pushin'
Author: L. Divine
ISBN: 9780758231154

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by L. Divine

Drama High

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

Jayd Jackson is ready to find peace after finishing her exams, but drama from friends and past relationships keeps pulling her into chaos. Between tangled friendships, family challenges, and her hair braiding business, Jayd must harness the strength passed down from her ancestors to take control of her life. Can she push through the turmoil and find the calm she longs for?

Themes

Friendship Family Coming of AgeAfrican American ExperienceSocial Justice

Quick Assessment

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

Why we rated Pushin' IE (Intense)

Pushin' is written at a Level 5-6 reading level across 224 pages (approximately 59,927 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, Pushin' runs about 6.7 hours — long enough to span several bedtime sessions.

We rate Pushin' 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, physical peril — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.

Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Death of Pet, Abandonment, Stalking, Physical Danger.

Thematically, Pushin' explores friendship, family, coming of age, african american experience, and social justice — 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.
✓ 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.
✓ Readers who fall hard for one book and want a long series to live in — there are 13 more books in the Drama High series.

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.
! Children currently coping with grief — the themes may hit close to home.

For Parents

Content Intensity

IE · Intense · Emotional

Emotional

Intense ←

Physical

Intense

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.