This is the story of you

Name: This is the story of you
Author: Beth Kephart
ISBN: 9781452142845

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Beth Kephart

Reading Level 5-6 ME · Moderate · Emotional Ages 13+ Matched

The text is written at a 5th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for teens (ages 13+), and the content has moderate intensity with some emotionally heavy themes. Its HootRating code, ME, means moderate content, mostly emotional.

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About This Book

Salt air fills your lungs as waves crash fiercely against the battered shore. Mira's island, once a safe haven, now lies shattered by a superstorm that changed everything overnight. Amid the ruins, secrets stir, and Mira must find her way through loss and new mysteries to protect what she holds dear.

Themes

Survival FamilyNatureLoss & GriefAdventure

Quick Assessment

After a superstorm devastates the barrier island where Mira Banul lives, she must face her family being cut off on the mainland, a stranger appearing in her wrecked home, and a missing friend. Expect strong emotional content around loss, grief, and fear, along with storm peril and destruction described in vivid but non-graphic terms. The tone is poetic and hopeful, though some mysteries remain open-ended.

Why we rated This is the story of you ME (Moderate)

This is the story of you is written at a Level 5-6 reading level across 258 pages. Upper Grades (Ages 13+) is the typical interest range for this book — readers in that age band have the maturity and attention span suited to the story, separate from whether they can decode the words.

We rate This is the story of you as ME (Moderate, mostly 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 — 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, This is the story of you explores survival, family, nature, loss & grief, and adventure — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers.

Good fit for

✓ Children in the Ages 13+ range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
✓ Kids drawn to stories about survival, family, nature.

Maybe not for

! Readers who get easily upset by emotional or moderately dark scenes — the conflict here is real, not just background flavor.

For Parents

Content Intensity

ME · Moderate · Emotional

Emotional

Moderate ←

Physical

Mild

Social

Gentle

Thematic

Mild

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

Real stakes and emotional weight. May include sustained danger, loss, or bullying.

Data confidence: high

Was our "Moderate" content intensity rating accurate for this book?