The disturbed girl's dictionary
NoNieqa Ramos
The disturbed girl's dictionary
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by NoNieqa Ramos
The text is written at a 7th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), and the content has moderate intensity with some emotionally heavy themes.
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About This Book
Here’s a secret: Macy’s world is full of chaos, but she’s the one who gets to write the rules. Using her own dictionary, she names every wild, scary, and funny thing around her—everything from her missing brother to her tricky family secrets. But that’s only the beginning.
Themes
Quick Assessment
This middle-grade novel follows Macy, a girl labeled as 'disturbed' by her school, who copes with family challenges including a mother struggling with depression, an incarcerated father, and a brother in foster care. Told through a unique dictionary format, the story explores themes of emotional struggles and resilience with candidness and humor. Suitable for ages 9-12, parents should be aware of mature topics like family hardship and mental health, presented in an accessible way.
Why we rated The disturbed girl's dictionary 12IE
The disturbed girl's dictionary is written at a Level 7 reading level across 338 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 8.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, The disturbed girl's dictionary works for readers up to grade 9.0.
We rate The disturbed girl's dictionary as 12IE ("Intense — Emotional") because the content sits in the "Moderate" range — moderate conflict that may involve loss, scary scenes, or interpersonal stakes. The strongest signals come from emotional weight, social complexity — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.
No specific content flags were raised by community reviewers, which is consistent with the moderate intensity score.
Thematically, The disturbed girl's dictionary explores learning disabilities, family, emotional problems, friendship, and juvenile fiction — 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 learning disabilities, family, emotional problems.
Maybe not for
- ! Readers who get easily upset by emotional or moderately dark scenes — the conflict here is real, not just background flavor.
- ! Reluctant readers who need a fast hook — the pacing here rewards patience.
For Parents
Content Intensity
12IE — Intense — EmotionalReal stakes and emotional weight. May include sustained danger, loss, or bullying.
Was our "Moderate" 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
- 9781512439762
- Pages
- 338
- Publisher
- Carolrhoda Lab ®
- Published
- 2018
- Type
- Fiction