Nakia Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I read them, thought they were amazing, can't wait to read them again and see the movie! My 11 year old wants to read them...I can't decide. I have explained to her that they are very intense and quite graphic. She is very mature, and I *think* she could handle it. I'm also pretty sure she would stop if she felt it was too much. So, have your children read The Hunger Games books and how did it go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Ds14 read them last year when he was 13. He said, "Book one, sure. Book 2 and 3, wait a year and a half." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I'm thinking high school is the proper age for these books. Maybe a very mature 8th grader, but no way 11. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Yup. They loved them. I think my kids were 10 or 11. I would let her. And then you have someone close to talk to about them :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All4one Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 We gave ds the trilogy for his 12th birthday. He loved them and has reread them a few times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty in Pink Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 My ds really enjoyed them at the age of 12. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamakimberly Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I read book 1 to my girls. We're waiting on the others. We'll read the whole series in a few years, but they really liked book 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I would not have handed them to ds, then only 11, but he had started them (borrowed from a friend) before he even thought to ask me. He was hooked at that point, so rather than stop him, I just read them as well, so we could discuss them as necessary. ... I *do* think they're a bit much for an 11yo. *But*, on the other hand, I think some of the sheer horror of the story from a *parent's* perspective just flies over a kid's head. That's not to say they (kids) can't understand or gain from the books -- I just think it's a very different experience reading them as an adult (and especially as a parent). In some ways, it's just not as harrowing for a kid, you know? Anyway, ds them all and loved them. That was over a year ago, and I see no particular sign that they've warped him for life. ;) My 9yo dd has asked about reading them, but also seemed content when I said I thought she should be older. The first movie is slated to come out a little before she turns 11, so I bet she'll end up reading them around that time. I don't think I'll stop her. It's hard sometimes to know when we need to let go and let our kids push a little closer to adulthood and when it's worth protecting them "just a little longer". In this case, I would probably have been more hesitant, but the books did make a positive impact. In the last year, ds has read a number of other dystopian novels and found that a really interesting genre. He even had the chance to interview James Dashner (Maze Runner trilogy) this evening and was terribly excited about that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 My 11yo and 9yo have read all three. We've talked a lot about the books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy in C-ville Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Honestly, my oldest read them last year and she told me she wished she hadn't read them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Two of my kids have read them. At the time, I think they were 11 and 13 (now 13 and 15). One of my girls (13)has not. I think she would find them too disturbing. My other dd though is obsessed w/ them and it wasn't a problem. Let her read the first one. If it bothers her at all, stop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 My youngest is 11 and she read them whenever they came out, or possibly when the 2nd and 3rd ones came out. No problems or fears, and both of my kids can be very sensitive to certain things. With these books, I don't think they see the situation as 'real' or very likely - and, like abbeyj suggested, it's not as horrifying to them as kids as it is to us as parents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 Thanks for the feedback. I think I'm going to go ahead and let her try out the first one. :001_smile: She'll know if she needs to stop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tutor Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I read all three out loud to my kids during lunch time (our typical RA time)... when my sobbing wasn't preventing my ability to read. They all enjoyed them and got something out of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie Grace Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Honestly, my oldest read them last year and she told me she wished she hadn't read them. I can see that. I started the first one and had to stop. I found it too dark (and not sufficiently well-written to justify the darkness of it). However, had I been a tween/teen, I probably would not have had the self-control to stop reading (or tell anyone) and would have kept reading out of curiosity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Ds 14 is reading Mockingjay now. He showed no interest in them, then suddenly decided last month that he wanted to read the whole series. I would have let him read the series at 11 if he wanted to. As for me, I didn't care for The Hunger Games, and have no desire to read the other two. I'm the only person I know IRL who didn't like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 DD read them in 7th grade. I read them first and made her wait awhile to read the last one. Maybe let her read the first one before the movie comes out and wait awhile (a year or so) for the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 *But*, on the other hand, I think some of the sheer horror of the story from a *parent's* perspective just flies over a kid's head. That's not to say they (kids) can't understand or gain from the books -- I just think it's a very different experience reading them as an adult (and especially as a parent). In some ways, it's just not as harrowing for a kid, you know? :iagree: I tried reading the first one & found the idea so horrific that I couldn't finish it. Otoh, my dd read the first two books when she was 12. She liked them well enough (& many of her friends *loved* them), but hasn't read the 3rd one yet (& doesn't seem in a big hurry to get around to it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I have not allowed my 11yo to read them yet. One of her best friends did--a pretty mature girl--and it gave her nightmares; she wished she hadn't. I want my kid to wait at least a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cammie Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 DD 10 read them and loved them. She is not exposed to much violence (no TV) and didn't have any problem with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilly Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 My twins read the first book at 11 and loved it. The second book was too much for my daughter though. She put it away after a few chapters and hasn't read it since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 My older dd, who is a mature 11 yr old, asked to read them and I said no. I read all three and just didn't like them. I also don't think I felt that the main character was what many others thought she was ~ a heroine. I didn't like her and don't want my dd reading them until high school. This is actually the very first time we've told her she can't read something as we're usually very laid back about books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy in Indy Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I know you're really asking about younger children...not only has my dd read the series but she based her master's thesis on them. (to be finished in the next couple of months--yea!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 My youngest read books 1 and 2 when book 2 came out. She was 11.5yo at the time. She read book 3 the day it was released. My middle dd didn't read Hunger Games until my youngest read it. I had told her it was great, but when my picky youngest told her it was great, she was willing to try it. She enjoyed the series, but not as much as my youngest (who thinks it's the 2nd best series ever - only Warriors tops it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akmommy Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I guess it just really depends on the child. I just read them a month or so ago and DD(13) read them right after I finished. She enjoyed them and it led to some interesting conversations. My DS(11) hasn't shown much interest in reading them yet but I doubt he'd have a problem with them either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trabug Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Dd9 read them last year. Her PS teacher started it as RA, and she finished the series at home. Dh had already read them, so he handled discussing. But she loved them and didn't have any issues, after talking the mature themes out with dh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirch Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I know you're really asking about younger children...not only has my dd read the series but she based her master's thesis on them. (to be finished in the next couple of months--yea!) I'm intrigued! What was her thesis about more specifically? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloversandlions Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 DS first started reading them a couple months before he turned 11; at that point, Catching Fire was due to released in another month or so. DD has heard us talking about the books often enough, and would say that she thought they sounded awful and that she never wanted to read them. I told her that that was fine - that there was no need to read them now or later. So, of course, she then decided she wanted to read them after all. She read them all this year, starting shortly after she turned 10yo. We've discussed them extensively, although IMO, ds was more ready to read them than dd; however, I don't regret allowing her to read them when she did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan in SC Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 My ds read the first book when he turned 11. He did comment that it was slightly disturbing, but he didn't want to discuss it. He wants to see the movie, so he read the book thinking the movie would be out soon. He hasn't asked to read the other two, though he would be welcome to read them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeannpal Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 :iagree: I tried reading the first one & found the idea so horrific that I couldn't finish it. Otoh, my dd read the first two books when she was 12. She liked them well enough (& many of her friends *loved* them), but hasn't read the 3rd one yet (& doesn't seem in a big hurry to get around to it). I thought the idea of kids killing kids with almost no remorse was awful. I finished the first book and am still very unsettled by it. I hope that my 9 year old daughter will never want to read it. (I agree with the person who said that it wasn't particularly well written either.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra in FL Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Ds 13 kept reading - couldn't put them down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 My twins read the first two books when they were 9 or 10, right after my oldest and I read them, and the third when it came out. They loved them, and neither had nightmares after. They tend to like dystopian novels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Collins' Underland Chronicles series deals with similar themes and is written for middle grades. If my DD were interested (and I think she will be because of the movie), I would point her toward Gregor the Overlander and wait on The Hunger Games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 My 13yo just read them and liked them but at 11yo he would not have been ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 My dd13 attempted it over a year ago and had to stop reading it because it disturbed her. In fact, she was in a literature class and she dropped the entire class due to that book. She was embarrassed that she seemed to be the only child who not only disliked the book, but was truly disturbed by it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 My dd was 12 and all her friends were reading them as well. It was so much fun to hear them get excited about the next book coming out...what might happen...who should play whom in the movie....which character they were most like. I really enjoyed the books and so did the older kids...but I wanted to share my dd's perspective since she is the closest in age to your child. Oh, the subject matter was fine. It was a little old for her...and she is somewhat sensitive...BUT, these books and the Rick Riordan books moved her into a new level of reading. Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 My 15 year old adores them. My 11 year old would not. If she really wanted to I suppose I would allow her them, but I'd be available to discuss, as always. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 My 11.5yo is going to be reading the first one next. If he likes it, I'll let him read the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cassiemc Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 My 11 year old and I read them at the beach last month. I thought it was great to find books that we both could read, enjoy and talk about. I just asked him about nightmares, etc. He said he was fine and was never afraid. It all depends on the person! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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