The poisoned city
Anna Clark
The poisoned city
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
Flint's Water and the American Urban Tragedy
by Anna Clark
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
The water in Flint wasn’t just dirty—it was dangerously poisoned, and no one wanted to admit it. People’s lives changed forever as they fought to uncover the truth hiding in their taps. This story shows why clean water is more than a right—it’s a fight that affects us all.
Themes
Quick Assessment
This middle-grade fiction book explores the real-life crisis of Flint's contaminated drinking water through a compelling narrative focused on the people impacted and those who exposed the issue. It introduces young readers to important themes like environmental health, public safety, and infrastructure neglect, suitable for ages 9-12. Parents should note that the story handles serious topics related to health risks and contamination but presents them in an age-appropriate and educational way.
Why we rated The poisoned city 12MS
The poisoned city is written at a Level 7 reading level across 305 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 8.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, The poisoned city works for readers up to grade 9.0.
We rate The poisoned city as 12MS ("Moderate — Social") 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, thematic difficulty — 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 poisoned city explores health risk assessment, contamination, drinking water, environmental justice, and community activism — 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 health risk assessment, contamination, drinking water.
- ✓ Curious kids who prefer real-world topics over made-up stories.
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
12MS — Moderate — SocialReal 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
2/10A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9781250125149
- Pages
- 305
- Publisher
- Metropolitan Books
- Published
- 2018
- Type
- Nonfiction