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Would you let your 14yo read The Help?


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I've not heard of this book, what is it about please?

 

Black women who work as domestic help for white women in the south (in the 1960s, I think). How some people are staunchly segregationist and racist even as they put the same people in charge of cooking and raising their kids! I'm not summarizing particularly well.

 

Still don't remember a naked man!

 

The chocolate pie was memorable, however.

 

There is a sort of bloody scene but I don't think it was too explicit for a 14 yo.

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If it weren't for that naked man scene, I don't think I would be hesitating this much. I can't make up my mind.

 

:iagree:

 

I just finished reading it and throughout the whole thing, I kept thinking my soon to be 13 year old dd could read it. Then I got to that small part and was like... nope. I may still let her read it and just "edit" that chapter. It is not really needed for the plot.

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We'll, I can't remember the naked man scene, so I'd have to evaluate or edit that. I have a 10 year old daughter and I think I'd let her read it about 12. We have a daughter who is black, so race relations directly affect our family. I'd also initiate much discussion!!

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Hmmm, is it written for a young teen or adult?

 

Adults, virtually all the characters are adults, but the main issue of the book is race. Not coming of age or teen romance. By the way this is an interesting conversation if you have time, on Diane Rehm show with these guests

 

The Right Reverand Jane Holmes Dixon The Right Reverend Jane Holmes Dixon, retired Episcopal Bishop of Washington, Pro-tempore.

 

E. Ethelbert Miller poet; director of the African American Resource Center at Howard University, Board Chair of the Institute for Policy Study. And author of the forthcoming book "On Saturdays I Santana With You."

 

Natalie Hopkinson media and culture critic for TheRoot.com, The Washington Post's black interest Web magazine. She is coauthor of "Deconstructing Tyrone: A New Look at Black Masculinity in the Hip-Hop Generation" and the forthcoming book, "Go-Go Live."

 

 

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-02-25/readers-review-help-kathryn-stockett

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We'll, I can't remember the naked man scene, so I'd have to evaluate or edit that. I have a 10 year old daughter and I think I'd let her read it about 12. We have a daughter who is black, so race relations directly affect our family. I'd also initiate much discussion!!

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Absolutely. In fact, I wish one of my kids would read it so I'd have company going to see the movie. (We have a policy that you have to read the book first.)

 

Edit: I didn't remember "the naked man scene" until you described it, but that wouldn't put me off allowing a teen to read the book. There's so much great stuff in it, and it's such a compelling story that I wouldn't let that one scene get in the way.

 

Of course, I don't do a lot of censoring by the time my kids get to that age.

Edited by Jenny in Florida
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  • 6 months later...
Would you let your kids watch the movie? If so, what age?

 

My daughter read the book and also watched the movie. She is 14. YMMV, but at her age, I accept language and other elements that I screen against at younger ages. I want her to begin to read/view books and movies with sophisticated themes and you can't really do that if you can't get past a few undesirable elements.

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I *think* I would, but that scene would give me pause for sure. He's offering them "p*cker pie" -- he's not just being lewd, he's being somewhat s*xually threatening, which might be too much for a 14-year-old who is sheltered from trashy TV (like my 12dd is). I do think the book has a lot of good going for it though, both as a story and a history lesson.

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I asked this *very* same question about six weeks ago. Most people said yes.

 

I ended up listening to the audio book by myself, and it was so, SO good. Personally, I loved the characters. But I was glad my 14YO son did not listen along with me. And it's not because of the naked man scene. There were so many heavy topics. Including an entire miscarriage with a bathroom full of blood.

 

I did make a caramel cake after reading the book, and it turned out really good.

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I didn't remember the naked man scene in the book until I read more of the detail here. Because of that, I would not offer the book to my 14yo.

 

I "made" my 17yodd watch the movie with me the other night. My 13yods was bored and watched. He actually really liked the movie. Dd ended up liking it too, but it was ds's enjoyment that surprised me. He was fascinated knowing that that people were like that in our country when I was born. (Yes, I explained that some still are.) Growing up out west, it's a completely foreign idea to him.

 

It showed the miscarriage scene; we'd actually talked about miscarriages earlier that morning from a book we are reading. No naked men scenes in the movie thankfully.

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My 14 year old read it and loved it. As for the naked scene, I just asked my dd and she described it as a racist thing and not a sensual scene. She did say though that the book as a whole may bother somebody that is more sensitive. But, I would say dd is pretty sensitive herself and seemed to be fine with it.

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