Cover of The Other Side of Dark

The Other Side of Dark

by Joan Lowery Nixon

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Assigned across 1 curriculum list · 1 state

Grade placement varies by school — the median assigned book spans 4 grade levels (83% span three or more, across 13,258 source-cited assignments).

On reading-award lists:Virginia Readers' Choice

The Other Side of Dark by Joan Lowery Nixon is assigned in US schools at grades 6–8. It appears across 1 curriculum reference and 1 state, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.

This page shows where The Other Side of Dark is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.

Grade range
Grades 6–8
Age range
Ages 11–13
Pages
185
Reading time
about 3h 25m (est.)
First published
1986
Genre
Mystery
ISBN-13
9780440803232

New to these terms? Reading levels by grade

More formats & details

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About this book

Seventeen-year-old Stacy awakens from a four-year coma ready to identify, locate, and prosecute the young man who murdered her mother and wounded her.

Similar grade-level books

See all books like The Other Side of Dark→ — matched on theme + reading level.

Why widely assigned

This Mystery title, typically at grades 6–8. Written in the 1980s; pairs with curriculum units on detective and mystery stories and mystery and detective stories; cited across 1 curriculum framework.

Themes

detective and mystery stories · mystery and detective stories

Where this book is assigned

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Common questions

What grade level is The Other Side of Dark?
The Other Side of Dark is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 6–8. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.
How long does it take to read The Other Side of Dark?
It takes about 3h 25m to read The Other Side of Dark (185 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 205 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
What curricula assign The Other Side of Dark?
The Other Side of Dark appears on reading lists for Virginia Readers' Choice. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is The Other Side of Dark banned in schools?
The Other Side of Dark does not appear in PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. No documented multi-district removals on record, but individual districts may challenge titles locally.
What themes does The Other Side of Dark explore?
Central themes in The Other Side of Dark include detective and mystery stories, mystery and detective stories. These themes match how the book is discussed in most curriculum guides and AP Literature prompts.

Why this book is on this list

How we classify

Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.

Lexile measure
Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
Grade band
Grades 6–8 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
Curriculum alignment
Cited in 1 curriculum on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
State-level evidence
Cited in 1 state ELA framework or DOE list (see citations above).
Removal / banning records
No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
Seasonal / contextual tags
Tagged for: book-club.

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