Team Fugee

Name: Team Fugee
Author: Dirk McLean
ISBN: 9781459412057

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Dirk McLean

Reading Level 4-5 LP · Mild · Physical 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, LP, means mild content, mostly physical.

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About This Book

Ozzie races across the soccer field, heart pounding as the ball slips just past his foot. His team, made up of kids like him from Nigeria, faces off against Victor's Syrian refugee team for the last spot to play. But when the two teams are asked to join forces against the division champs, Ozzie wonders—can he really trust Victor, or will everything he's built fall apart?

Themes

FriendshipRefugeesSports Multicultural Family Coming of Age

Quick Assessment

Team Fugee follows Ozzie, a young Nigerian refugee living in Canada, as he navigates life in a new country, complicated friendships, and a love for soccer. This middle-grade novel addresses themes of immigration, cultural diversity, and resilience, suitable for ages 9 to 12. It contains mild conflict related to adjusting to change and competition but is appropriate for its target audience.

Why we rated Team Fugee LP (Mild)

Team Fugee is written at a Level 4-5 reading level across 135 pages. Reading-wise, most kids in grade 6 and up can manage Team Fugee on their own; younger readers can enjoy it with a parent or teacher reading along.

We rate Team Fugee as LP (Mild, mostly physical) 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.

Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Mild Peril.

Thematically, Team Fugee explores friendship, refugees, sports, multicultural, and family — 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, refugees, sports.

Maybe not for

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

For Parents

Content Intensity

LP · Mild · Physical

Emotional

Gentle

Physical

Mild ←

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

Light conflict or tension. Mild peril resolved quickly.