Tone deaf

Name: Tone deaf
Author: Olivia Rivers
ISBN: 9781634507073

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Olivia Rivers

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

The roar of the crowd fades into silence as Ali feels the vibrations of music beneath her fingertips. Once a musical prodigy, Ali now navigates a world without sound, where every note is felt instead of heard. But when a chance backstage with a famous band stirs old dreams, her heart races with hope and fear—can she find her way back to the music she loves?

Themes

MusiciansLoveMusicSelf-esteemDisability Representation

Quick Assessment

A teen who lost her hearing after a brain tumor leaves a painful home life behind and travels cross-country with a rock band's lead singer, rediscovering her love of music along the way. Parents should know the story includes implied physical abuse at home, a serious illness, and a runaway plot, with light romance and no graphic content. It is a hopeful story about self-worth and second chances, well suited to older teen readers who can discuss its heavier moments.

Why we rated Tone deaf ME (Moderate)

Tone deaf is written at a Level 5-6 reading level across 276 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 Tone deaf 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, thematic difficulty — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.

Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Emotional Abuse, Disability.

Thematically, Tone deaf explores musicians, love, music, self-esteem, and disability representation — 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 musicians, love, music.

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

Intense ←

Physical

Mild

Social

Mild

Thematic

Moderate

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.