Riverside: setbacks
Peter Regan
Riverside: setbacks
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by Peter Regan
Illustrated by Myler, Terry, illustrator.
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 gentle with no concerning themes.
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About This Book
What if your best teammates suddenly had nowhere to live right before the big soccer season? Imagine Mad Victor and Mad Henry returning from far away, but with no place to stay. Can the Irish soccer team find a way to stick together and win against all odds?
Themes
Quick Assessment
This middle-grade fiction book follows a young soccer team facing unexpected challenges when two key players return without a place to stay. It highlights teamwork, problem-solving, and friendship within the context of sports and adventure. Suitable for ages 9-12, the story offers positive messages about resilience and cooperation.
Why we rated Riverside: setbacks 9LE
Riverside: setbacks is written at a Level 4-5 reading level across 128 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 5.5 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, Riverside: setbacks works for readers up to grade 6.5.
We rate Riverside: setbacks as 9LE ("Light — Emotional") because the content sits in the "Gentle" range — no conflict beyond everyday childhood experiences. Across our four dimensions (emotional, physical, social, thematic) the book reads as evenly gentle; no single dimension stands out as a concern.
No specific content flags were raised by community reviewers, which is consistent with the gentle intensity score.
Thematically, Riverside: setbacks explores friendship, sports, adventure, and teamwork — 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.
- ✓ Kids drawn to stories about friendship, sports, adventure.
Maybe not for
- ! Readers whose emotional readiness lags behind their decoding skills — this book's intensity outruns its reading level, a classic "gifted kid" mismatch.
For Parents
Content Intensity
9LE — Light — EmotionalNo conflict beyond everyday childhood experiences. Safe for sensitive readers.
Was our "Gentle" content intensity rating accurate for this book?
Reading Insights
Hook Factor
3/10A steady, thoughtful read that rewards patient readers.
Discussion Potential
1/10A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 1901737322
- Pages
- 128
- Publisher
- Anvil Books
- Published
- 2001
- Type
- Fiction