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My dd12 almost 13 wants to read The Hunger Games


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So I told her she couldn't until I read it first. The previews for the movie disturbed me greatly. I had no desire to read the books after seeing them, not my type of book, not my type of movie. Plus I was insulted that a book/movie like this is targeted at our youth but that's another thread. So she wants to read it and I'm really on the fence. I finished the first book and now I'm reading the second, I'm hooked. Ugh. It's not as gorey as I thought it would however the subject matter still disturbs me and I'm not sure it's something I want my dd to read. I'm a being too overprotective? Thoughts?

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I think you should read all three books before you decide. I let my (just turned) 14 year old and 16 year old girls read it, but not my (just turned) 11 year old son yet.

 

eta: I say read all three books because I think the books do a good job of redeeming the society in question, more or less. If it had ended differently, then I would not be as comfortable letting my teens read them.

Edited by Mrs Mungo
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She's a teen. My policy is not to dictate genre and tastes to my teens.

 

YOU might not like dystopian literature. She might (or she might just be buying into the hype.)

 

Either way, I think that it is appropriate at her age to allow a wide range of books and minimal censorship.

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My 9 (nearly 10) year old just finished the 1st book and is halfway through the 2nd. She wanted to read them a year ago and I said no. After a year of talking about the books, the subject matter, and then finally watching the movie together, she convinced me that she could handle it.

 

She's devouring them. I do recognize that not all kids this age would, but I'm comfortable with it.

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Both dc's read them after me. They really enjoyed them. I had a hard time deciding because of book 3. It bothered me but they read them and never brought up my "issues". We discussed them pretty extensively and they were not bothered at all.

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You should read them first. But, I did let my 12yo boy read them. Different books for different kids. This one doesn't internalize like most kids. He loves the dystopian genre and is now finishing the Uglies series.

I let my son read them; that doesn't mean you should let your 13 yo. If you don't want to preread, maybe ask someone IRL who raises kiddos like you do and has the same belief system. They would be better judges, IMO.

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She's a teen. My policy is not to dictate genre and tastes to my teens.

 

YOU might not like dystopian literature. She might (or she might just be buying into the hype.)

 

Either way, I think that it is appropriate at her age to allow a wide range of books and minimal censorship.

 

:iagree:This was how my mother was when I was growing up and this has been my policy with my one who is old enough for it to be an issue. I do often read books before, after or at the same time as her so I know if there's things I want to discuss but I let her chose her own books.

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I read these when they came out. Ds2 was interested because he had enjoyed the author's Gregor the Overlander series. But he was 11 at the time and I thought he was a bit young for Hunger Games. When he was nearing 13yo I told him he could read them. He enjoyed them for awhile but lost steam and never finished the third book. He said he was no longer interested because they'd become too popular by then. :glare:

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Man, I'm the negligent mother in the group. My daughter is a voracious reader. I can't imagine pre-reading everything before she can read it. I just do not have the time to read as much as she does. She read the trilogy in middle school and told me I had to read them. (This is the same kid who warned me off Twilight and asked for tickets to the Green brothers book tour for her birthday.).

 

I gave up screening her books around 4th grade when she started reading a stack of chapter books a week. Her dystopian society phase lasted a good year! I envied that she had the TIME to read that much. Sadly, she can no longer read a stack of books each week because she is in high school and has school all day and homework in the evenings.

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My then-11 year old read them and saw the movie. She LOVED them. We have had some great discussions about the books and movie. My mother bought the book set for Anna for her 12th birthday this past weekend, and she's almost done rereading them.

 

I don't think my middle dd would be ready at that age. She can't even get through the Little House books because animals die in the books. She is very sensitive.

 

Each kid/family is different.

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I agree that you should read all three first, in part because of the redemption aspect and in part because the second book is more intense than the first, and the third is way more intense (IMO) than the second. I'm perfectly willing to let my DD10 read the first, and I'd be hesitant but would probably allow the second. I found the third so intense that I don't think she's ready for it, and I know she'd want to zoom through all three.

 

IMO, the overarching message is a positive one. It's not just gratuitous violence for the sake of violence. But only you can decide if your DD is ready for them.

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Definitely agree about reading them first since you know your kids best. I did let my 9 year old read the first one and she's waiting on the second one, our library queue is very long. I probably was a little too eager to allow her, hoping she picks up on my love of dystopian novels.

 

ETA: My general rule about books that you can read anything but some things require more discussion than others.

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I was more disturbed than my 12 yr dd, but I am a mom. She's not. I read all three books before I let her, and I still wondered if it was the right thing. She enjoyed them and we had a lot of interesting discussions. When the movie came out, she wanted dh and I to watch it first because she was worried about the blood and violence. We allowed her to watch and she has since watched it four or five times. The discussions we've had with her, and with 10 yr dd (who didn't read the books but watched the movie), have been great.

 

FTR, I grew up in a home that had zero censoring of movies and books. I vividly remember watching Children of the Corn when I was only eight. :001_huh: I definitely censor more than my parents, but they still get a lot of freedom with their choices (there's no gore, sexual violence, or over the top sex stuff allowed). It's working for us.

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I let my then eleven year old read them all after I read them. My greatest worry was that she wouldn't get the message of the books. She did, so I have let her off the chain a bit. We did see the movie and agreed that the movie is a great adaptation of the book but that people wouldn't get it unless they had read the books.

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My dd is 11 and she read the first book and part of the second. Then she decided she couldn't handle the rest right now. She's really good at knowing what she can handle.

 

Earlier this summer, she said, "I seem to be on a dystopian kick this summer!" :)

 

She's discovered that she likes many of the teens series now.

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My 13 yr. old read the first and second books last year. He started the third in April and can't seem to get into it enough to finish it. Personally, unless it has gratuitous sex or an extreme amount of foul language, I do not dictate what DS can and cannot read. He has taken things from my shelves with permission before (just to verify that it didn't fall into one of the above two categories) that would probably be considered above his level.

 

My ds isn't easily disturbed by books or even movies. On the other hand, he refused to listen to a dramatized version of The Hobbit at bedtime last year because he fount it to be "creepy." :tongue_smilie:

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Slightly OT, but I have let my 12 yo read the first two in the series. I would have liked to have preread, but seriously, I couldn't get more than 1/3 through the first book. It was just so boring to me. So I really don't want to read it, but I feel like we should discuss it. Any ideas? Is there a good summary of the book somewhere or list of questions that is especially good? I'm sure there's a lot out there, but it would be easier if someone could recommend something. Or maybe we should watch the movie together? I really have no desire to see it, nor am I sure she should see it.

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We put our oldest in PS this year (8th grade) and I was shocked when he came home yesterday and told us his 1st required reading for Literature this year was the Hunger Games.

 

My husband said "welcome to ps!" ha - HE's the one that wanted him to go...anyway :glare:...

 

I read the series - I thought they were well written, thought provoking but extremely violent. It is like Lord of the Flies on steroids. I think he'll be fine reading it but more sensitive kids may have issues with it.

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She's a teen. My policy is not to dictate genre and tastes to my teens.

 

YOU might not like dystopian literature. She might (or she might just be buying into the hype.)

 

Either way, I think that it is appropriate at her age to allow a wide range of books and minimal censorship.

 

Censorship is a strong word. It's not deciding WHAT they can read, but WHEN they can read it. My dd10 would absolutely freak out at some of the death scenes and would cry and have nightmares. Ds8 would probably like them (although I'm not handing them out). It's knowing your child and knowing what is best for them.

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I have read them, but my kids have not. They are probably far more sheltered than most kids in terms of what they have viewed in movies and read in books. At this point, my oldest could probably handle the books, but my 13 year old could not. She is pretty sensitive.

 

I thought certain parts of the books were really disturbing and I don't see any benefit of exposing my kids to them just yet.

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I think you should read all three books before you decide. I let my (just turned) 14 year old and 16 year old girls read it, but not my (just turned) 11 year old son yet.

 

eta: I say read all three books because I think the books do a good job of redeeming the society in question, more or less. If it had ended differently, then I would not be as comfortable letting my teens read them.

 

:iagree:

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I think that saying "You're not allowed to read them" is likely to make them forbidden fruit and she'll find a way to sneak them.

 

On the other hand, if you say she can read them but you want to have a lot of discussion with her about it, it may push her in the other direction.

 

Or perhaps that was just me as a teen :)

 

I read the series - I thought they were well written, thought provoking but extremely violent. It is like Lord of the Flies on steroids. I think he'll be fine reading it but more sensitive kids may have issues with it.

 

I think LooF is worse, and have to take that into account when I'm shocked at hearing of Hunger Games as required reading, since LooF was required reading for me in 9th grade.

Edited by ocelotmom
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