................... Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Things I would be particularly concerned about would be sexual themes, although extreme violence would also not be great... any thoughts? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Well it has been a long time but I read the Isaac Asimov youth novels voraciously as a preteen and teen. I cant think of anything inappropriate from that angle. They were fairly sexist by today's standards but still fun to read. Other than the youth novels I would think you might want to screen the other books. Cant recall... The autobiographies are interesting, but maybe for you not for your child. A kid might find them less interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry in OH Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 By today's standards, sexual themes or violence in Asimov's science fiction is mild. The Norby and Lucky Starr series were written for juvenile audiences. If those seem too young, I Robot and the first two books of the Robot series might appeal. You might want to pre-read the third book in the series, Robots of Dawn. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 DS says the first three Foundation novels were fine: Foundation Foundation and Empire Second Foundation 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 It's been awhile since I read Asimov, but I don't remember anything graphic, mature or intense. I mostly think Asimov is not a very good writer. I esp. wince at his sexism, and lack of character development. For example, women in his earlier works are all "buxom broads" and "ditzy dames". Sheesh! Give me a break! Pretty much across the board his characterizations are very one-dimensional. It's really his science and tech ideas that you read for -- NOT his mediocre writing style… JMO. ;) That said, the short story collection I, Robot is interesting (lays down the "laws" of robotics that everyone has adopted in all sci-fi ever since). And the novel Foundation, and the first few additional works in the series, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation. The first book is complete on its own, if you're not interested in continuing the series, which is the best, IMO. I haven't read them, but what about Asimov's Norby series? If you're looking for older classics (1940s-1960s -- the "Golden Era" of Sci-Fi), R is for Rocket, or The Martian Chronicles, both short story collections by Ray Bradbury would be good ones for that age, written in a similar time frame as Asimov's works. Also check out the Science Fiction Hall of Fame Vol. 1 (1929-1964), ed. by Silverberg. Oh! And Andre Norton, writing sci-fi (and fantasy) in the 1950s-1980s. Star Soldiers is a good one. Or her first sci-fi novel, Daybreak 2250AD. For much older (late 19th century) sci-fi for a tween, maybe: - Twenty-One Balloons (DuBois) -- actually written in 20th cent., but a real Jules Verne feel to it - 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Verne) - Journey to the Center of the Earth (Verne) - John Carter of Mars series (Burroughs) - Looking Backward (Bellamy) Some more recent sci-fi for tweens/young teens: - City of Ember; People of Sparks; Diamond of Darkhold (Du Prau) - Gregor the Overlander series (Collins) - When The Tripods Came (Christopher) -- and sequels - Bromeliad Trilogy: Truckers; Diggers; Wings (Pratchett) - Wrinkle in Time; Wind in the Door (L'Engle) - The Giver (Lowry) -- and sequels - Below the Root (Snyder) -- and sequels - The Green Book (Walsh) - Enchantress from the Stars (Engdahl) -- sci-fi AND fantasy in one - Leviathan, Behemouth, Goliath trilogy (Westerfeld) -- steam-punk alternate WW1 setting Dianne Wynne Jones has some fairly decent fantasy books; I tried two of her sci-fi works and was very underwhelmed, but they might click for a tween: - Dogsbody - Tale of Time City More recent sci-fi rated okay for tweens (no personal experience): - Uglies -- trilogy (Westerfeld) - Infinity Ring (Dashner) - Nick of Time (Bell) - House of the Scorpion (Farmer) 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor_dad Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 DS and I both really like Asimov, though we mostly read his non-fiction. I think his novels are fine in terms of content... though dated and sexist. There aren't any surprises going from the younger novels to the older novels like with say Heinlein. I am sure that the Robot books and the Foundation books are fine... Asimov's nonfiction is great. The "How Did We Find out About..." series is some of the best upper elementary science writing I've seen. His higher level books on physics and math are delightful. Asimov's books of limericks as really quite lewd, even by the standard of limericks. These books are OOP and quite rare so that shouldn't be an issue. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 DS and I both really like Asimov, though we mostly read his non-fiction. I think his novels are fine in terms of content... though dated and sexist. There aren't any surprises going from the younger novels to the older novels like with say Heinlein. I am sure that the Robot books and the Foundation books are fine... Asimov's nonfiction is great. The "How Did We Find out About..." series is some of the best upper elementary science writing I've seen. His higher level books on physics and math are delightful. Asimov's books of limericks as really quite lewd, even by the standard of limericks. These books are OOP and quite rare so that shouldn't be an issue. Yeah I remember vividly the day when I was switching from the Heinlein youth books to Heinlein adult books in High School and being rather taken aback! :lol: Waaaaay different than Asimov youth to Asimov adult books. :) Still love Heinlein and Asimov Youth books, truth be told, despite the datedness and sexism of the material. Frederick Pohl had some good ones. So did A.M. Lightner. Alan Dean Foster, too, but his Flinx series, while really interesting, was a tad racy at times. Probably not by today's standards at all, but certain things are hinted at... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmos Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 DS and I both really like Asimov, though we mostly read his non-fiction. I think his novels are fine in terms of content... though dated and sexist. There aren't any surprises going from the younger novels to the older novels like with say Heinlein. I am sure that the Robot books and the Foundation books are fine... Asimov's nonfiction is great. The "How Did We Find out About..." series is some of the best upper elementary science writing I've seen. His higher level books on physics and math are delightful. Asimov's books of limericks as really quite lewd, even by the standard of limericks. These books are OOP and quite rare so that shouldn't be an issue. Re: the Robot books -- as someone mentioned above Robots of Dawn is a little different from the others. SPOILERS BELOW The entire plot hinges on the question of human-robot sex, and in particular an affair between a human and robot character in the book. The woman goes into a fair amount of detail of her sexual encounters with the robot and others. It's not super graphic, but it's kind of weird and while I'm not a huge prude (well actually I am when it comes to what I like to read, but I don't impose that on my kid) I probably would not suggest it for a young teen. If they're going to read about sex, I would steer them toward books that model healthy human relationships. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJosMom Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 DD 12 read and loved I, Robot-content was fine. She is in the middle of Foundation-again, no issues with content here. She has also read and enjoyed a couple of books Asimov wrote on numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Asimov? Well, he suffers from a great deal of Society Marches On, but his books aren't terribly graphic or anything. Below the Root is a great recommendation, it's like The Giver if The Giver was a better-written book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted April 11, 2015 Author Share Posted April 11, 2015 THanks. I said NO to all the Robot books except the first one, because human-robot s*x is definitely not on my agenda for the 13 year old. I was also able to discuss with him the sexism and tell him Yes to the youth Heinlein books, but NO to the adult Heinlein books at least for the next few years. LoriD, thanks for all of those other recommendations!!! WTM FTW 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Asimov? Well, he suffers from a great deal of Society Marches On, but his books aren't terribly graphic or anything. Below the Root is a great recommendation, it's like The Giver if The Giver was a better-written book. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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