Ted Dekker - Black, Red, White etc - what age?

[Alexandra]

I heard my librarian that these books are violent and intense. Would they be too much for a 14.5 boy? What about as a readaloud for an 11.5 boy?

My kids love series!

Thanks

[Hockey Mom]

I think my DD was around 13 when she started reading them. I'm a HUGE Dekker fan and own everything he's ever written. I didn't find them particularly violent. It's a modern day take on the Bible, so if you feel the Bible's too violent, then the Circle Trilogy probably isn't for you.

 

Another GREAT Christian fiction author is Robert Liparulo. He's just released a teen series (Dreamhouse Kings) that is fabulous. They remind me a bit of those old Goosebumps books...but with a different spin.

[Georgiana Daniels]

I think it's probably good for at least the 14 yo. I don't recall them being particularly violent either, but that was a LONG time ago.

 

I second Hockey Mom's recommendation on Robert Liparulo!!! I read the first book in the Dream Kings series, and highly enjoyed. His adult books, however, I'd save for an adult since they're pretty graphic.

[MySerenity]

I think 14 years old would probably be good for these books. But I guess it's also on how mature your son is. (He does also have series The Lost Books... which are young adult books... they kind of take place int the same 'universe' as the Circle books. They aren't nearly as violent.)

[Melissa in CA]

My 12 yo is currently reading Black. He loves it. I think it really depends on the child. This boy is very grounded in reality and does not scare easy at all. His cousins, on the other hand, who are 11 and 14 could not handle Dekker's books...in fact the cartoon movie Jimmy Neutron gave them nightmares about aliens. :confused:

 

Perhaps try Black as a read-aloud and go from there.

Edited August 2, 2009 by Melissa in CA

[phathui5]

My 8yo ds read the graphic novel versions and liked them. He wasn't upset and I didn't see anything inappropriate.

[Heather in Neverland]

I just read all 3 books about 3 weeks ago. I thought they were pretty violent. Perhaps for a 14yo boy but not an 11yo boy (my ds is 11yo and I would NOT let him read these). BTW, Dekker's other books get progressively darker. I read "Showdown" and had nightmares.

[Melissa in CA]

Dekker's other books get progressively darker. I read "Showdown" and had nightmares.

 

I was wondering about that. My ds wanted a new book to take on vacation, and knowing he enjoyed a previous Dekker book I began searching for another. I was somewhat taken-aback by the story lines in his novels. :confused: They seemed a bit on the dark side to me, with not much to redeem them. I chose Black for him from reviews I read, but I can't help but wonder about some of his novels and how he can be called a "Christian" author. :confused:

 

We rented the movie "House" which my son and dh both read, and I kept wondering when something Christian was going to appear. It's was a basic scary story movie with no mention of anything remotely biblical. I guess that as long as a movie/book doesn't have foul language and nudity/s*x and the author claims to be a Christian....then it is considered a Christian book/movie. Odd.

[Georgiana Daniels]

I think House was supposed to depict the condition of the human heart--at least I heard that somewhere. The book was ok, but the movie turned me off.

 

Some of Dekker's books are too "out there" for me, but I REALLY enjoyed his recent one with Erin Healy called "Kiss"--a page turner, I reviewed it here.