Trust your name
Tim Tingle
Trust your name
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by Tim Tingle
The text is written at a 4th 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
What if a team of Choctaw basketball players came together to compete in a national tournament, carrying the spirit of the Panther watching over them? Imagine facing not just tough opponents on the court, but also unfair taunts and challenges that test their trust in each other. When two players are suddenly arrested, the whole team must uncover the truth before their big game—can they rise above it all?
Themes
Quick Assessment
This middle-grade fiction follows a team of Choctaw basketball players as they navigate competition, cultural pride, and racism during a summer league national tournament. The story explores themes of teamwork, identity, and justice, with age-appropriate portrayals of conflict including racist taunts and a wrongful arrest. Recommended for ages 9-12, it offers an insightful look at Native American culture alongside sports drama.
Why we rated Trust your name 9ME
Trust your name is written at a Level 4-5 reading level across 153 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 5.5 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, Trust your name works for readers up to grade 6.5.
We rate Trust your name as 9ME ("Moderate — 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.
Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Racism, Wrongful Arrest.
Thematically, Trust your name explores basketball, choctaw indians, multicultural, friendship, and coming of age — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers. Each of these themes is concrete enough to seed a real conversation, not just a moral lesson.
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 basketball, choctaw indians, multicultural.
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
9ME — Moderate — 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
5/10Good conversation starter with themes worth exploring together.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9781939053190
- Pages
- 153
- Publisher
- Pathfinders
- Published
- 2018
- Type
- Fiction