The vast fields of ordinary
Nick Burd
The vast fields of ordinary
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by Nick Burd
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
Dade’s summer feels like a storm of tough breaks—mean boyfriend, family troubles, and a job that’s no fun. Then Alex Kincaid shows up, and suddenly hope feels real. But when the summer ends with a heartbreaking twist, Dade must find the courage to face what’s next.
Quick Assessment
This middle-grade novel explores themes of young love, family challenges, and self-discovery during a pivotal summer in a boy’s life. It addresses sensitive topics such as sexual orientation, relationship struggles, and parental divorce with emotional depth appropriate for ages 9-12. Parents should be aware of mature themes including dating difficulties and family conflict.
Why we rated The vast fields of ordinary 12IE
The vast fields of ordinary is written at a Level 7 reading level across 309 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 8.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, The vast fields of ordinary works for readers up to grade 9.0.
We rate The vast fields of ordinary 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 vast fields of ordinary explores coming of age, family, friendship, romance, and lgbtq+ representation — 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.
- ✓ Readers ready to talk through themes after they finish — there's enough substance for a meaningful conversation.
- ✓ Kids drawn to stories about coming of age, family, friendship.
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
4/10Good conversation starter with themes worth exploring together.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9780142418208
- Pages
- 309
- Publisher
- National Geographic Books
- Published
- 2011
- Type
- Fiction