This is not a love letter
Kim Purcell
This is not a love letter
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by Kim Purcell
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
Jessie runs along the river, heart pounding, wondering where Chris could be. He vanished after that scary fight with some boys from the rival school—why hasn’t anyone found him yet? As Jessie writes him a letter, she uncovers secrets that might change everything.
Themes
Quick Assessment
This middle-grade novel explores themes of loss, racial tension, and young love in a small town setting. It follows Jessie as she searches for her missing boyfriend Chris, confronting difficult social issues like harassment and community prejudice. Suitable for ages 9-12, the story handles mature topics with sensitivity but includes some intense emotional content and mild threats.
Why we rated This is not a love letter 12IE
This is not a love letter is written at a Level 7 reading level across 356 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 8.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, This is not a love letter works for readers up to grade 9.0.
We rate This is not a love letter 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, thematic difficulty — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.
Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Mild Threats, Racial Harassment.
Thematically, This is not a love letter explores loss & grief, love, racial discrimination, small town life, and coming of age — 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 loss & grief, love, racial discrimination.
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.
Content Flags
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
- 9781484798348
- Pages
- 356
- Publisher
- Disney-Hyperion
- Published
- 2018
- Type
- Fiction