Spin-off of monitoring teen reading. Did you parents let you read VC Andrews?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read them all. My Mother had no idea what I was reading. I was also reading Stephen King and James Herbert in my early teens. I’m not a psychopath.

+1

My parents didn't "let" me read anything. I don't think they had any clue what I was reading at any given time. Everything I read, I got from the library or passed along from a friend.

My parents weren't paying attention to what I was reading either - it's so funny because it's not like now where you can just discreetly read on a Kindle. Those covers didn't hide much! And for sure I read VC Andrews - plus Wifey, and a lot of other very provocative books. The only thing I remember my parents objecting to was Sweet Valley High, now that I think of it.

[Anonymous]

Of course. My parents aren't idiots that want book banning or moderate what we read and I would never do that to my children.

I love parents who do this. Their daughters and sons usually have those pesky babies around 15 or 16. The dumbing down of youth. Oh boy such great parentling.

[Anonymous]

My parents let me read anything, and I read all the VC Andrews books and all the Jean Auel books. At some point I discovered a copy of The Happy Hooker on my parents bookshelf and read that (sneakily, because with that title it was obvious what it was about!) and that was, um, illuminating. I still am shocked that my parents owned it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My parents let me read anything, and I read all the VC Andrews books and all the Jean Auel books. At some point I discovered a copy of The Happy Hooker on my parents bookshelf and read that (sneakily, because with that title it was obvious what it was about!) and that was, um, illuminating. I still am shocked that my parents owned it!

I should say, my Dad banned me from watching Dirty Dancing because of the illegal abortion (staunch Catholic) so I'm not sure why books were so unmonitored.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read them all. My Mother had no idea what I was reading. I was also reading Stephen King and James Herbert in my early teens. I’m not a psychopath.

+1

My parents didn't "let" me read anything. I don't think they had any clue what I was reading at any given time. Everything I read, I got from the library or passed along from a friend.

My parents weren't paying attention to what I was reading either - it's so funny because it's not like now where you can just discreetly read on a Kindle. Those covers didn't hide much! And for sure I read VC Andrews - plus Wifey, and a lot of other very provocative books. The only thing I remember my parents objecting to was Sweet Valley High, now that I think of it.

LOL, what was objectionable about Sweet Valley High?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read them all. My Mother had no idea what I was reading. I was also reading Stephen King and James Herbert in my early teens. I’m not a psychopath.

+1

My parents didn't "let" me read anything. I don't think they had any clue what I was reading at any given time. Everything I read, I got from the library or passed along from a friend.

My parents weren't paying attention to what I was reading either - it's so funny because it's not like now where you can just discreetly read on a Kindle. Those covers didn't hide much! And for sure I read VC Andrews - plus Wifey, and a lot of other very provocative books. The only thing I remember my parents objecting to was Sweet Valley High, now that I think of it.

Same. My parents didn't pay attention to what I was reading, and I read VC Andrews, Wifey, and Forever.

[Anonymous]

No censoring in my house. I read some pretty out there stuff, along with classic literature. I do not censor what my children read.

[Anonymous]

I read Flowers in the Attic and the next book in that series, but my parents had no idea.

-Neglected Gen Xer

[Anonymous]

Mine didn’t care what I read*. I read anything off the living room bookshelves, which included a few surprising selections with a lot of sex. Also a ton of suspense mysteries with a s%#! ton of violence. I don’t know if they knew I read VC Andrews, but it certainly wasn’t a secret, I left my books around everywhere. I think a friend gave Flowers to me first, but they let me buy sequel books at the grocery store.

*The only books I wasn’t allowed to read were Sweet Valley High. My dad thought they were vapid. I mean, the actual kama sutra was fine, and reading about serial killers raping women was fine, but Sweet Valley High? Naw… makes me laugh now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read them all. My Mother had no idea what I was reading. I was also reading Stephen King and James Herbert in my early teens. I’m not a psychopath.

+1

My parents didn't "let" me read anything. I don't think they had any clue what I was reading at any given time. Everything I read, I got from the library or passed along from a friend.

My parents weren't paying attention to what I was reading either - it's so funny because it's not like now where you can just discreetly read on a Kindle. Those covers didn't hide much! And for sure I read VC Andrews - plus Wifey, and a lot of other very provocative books. The only thing I remember my parents objecting to was Sweet Valley High, now that I think of it.

Most people read Sweet Valley high in late elementary or early middle school where I lived. There were couples and kisses in those books, but no detailed descriptions of anything.

7th grade was when I remember girls finding Danielle Steel and VC Andrews. It was before YA was even thing, so we had outgrown SVH and the "older" Nancy Drew series (anyone remember that? something like The Nancy Drew Files), but probably weren't really ready for adult content. Oops.

I'm glad YA is a thing now. More adult themes without the graphic depictions.

[Anonymous]

I read Flowers in the Attic in 4th grade (and then made my way through the whole series). My parents had no clue!

[Anonymous]

I started reading them in 3rd grade! Someone told my mom I shouldn't be and my aunt and my mom rented the movie Flowers in the Attic, watched just a little bit of it, and said it was fine if I kept reading. Flowers in the Attic was probably the least shocking of those books.

[Anonymous]

My parents had no idea what I was reading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read them all. My Mother had no idea what I was reading. I was also reading Stephen King and James Herbert in my early teens. I’m not a psychopath.

+1

My parents didn't "let" me read anything. I don't think they had any clue what I was reading at any given time. Everything I read, I got from the library or passed along from a friend.

My parents weren't paying attention to what I was reading either - it's so funny because it's not like now where you can just discreetly read on a Kindle. Those covers didn't hide much! And for sure I read VC Andrews - plus Wifey, and a lot of other very provocative books. The only thing I remember my parents objecting to was Sweet Valley High, now that I think of it.

LOL, what was objectionable about Sweet Valley High?

My mom thought they were trashy and not serious enough! I wonder if she remembers that. I will have to ask. Why didn't they ever get made into movies, I wonder?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read them all. My Mother had no idea what I was reading. I was also reading Stephen King and James Herbert in my early teens. I’m not a psychopath.

+1

My parents didn't "let" me read anything. I don't think they had any clue what I was reading at any given time. Everything I read, I got from the library or passed along from a friend.

My parents weren't paying attention to what I was reading either - it's so funny because it's not like now where you can just discreetly read on a Kindle. Those covers didn't hide much! And for sure I read VC Andrews - plus Wifey, and a lot of other very provocative books. The only thing I remember my parents objecting to was Sweet Valley High, now that I think of it.

Same. My parents didn't pay attention to what I was reading, and I read VC Andrews, Wifey, and Forever.

I am the PP - and Forever was how I learned what a virgin was.