10-year-old DD only wants to read YA fantasy novels

[Anonymous]

A fight not worth having, and not even sure what is so wrong with that. They feel grown up to her.

The books from our era weren't even from our era, some of them. They just don't resonate with the kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If she likes fantasy/science fiction/YA, try to ALSO encourage her to read some more "traditional" books in that genre, like "Hunger Games," Tolkein, etc., but make it in addition to what she's reading on her own, not "instead of."

--An English MA holder who has helped run a youth reading grant and knows that kids reading ANYTHING on their own is tremendously valuable

We've tried this without much success. Compared to contemporary YA fantasy, the fantasy/science fiction I grew up reading--Asimov, Heinlein, Zelazny, McCaffrey, Dune--seems boring and difficult to her. The "junk" that I happily devoured alongside more serious fiction is serious fiction compared to what's on the market today. Oh well!

Well, that is because they are difficult, and completely remote. Read some Asimov again. It is sooooooo midcentury. We grew up then or close to then, but our children didn't. Dune is really too sophisticated for ten year olds, even if their reading ability is there. Heinlein isn't mysogynist and cpmpletely a product of the sixties... Yet another remote decade. There was a lot of good stuff written in those eras, but a whole lot of crap rivaling today's. You sound old.

[Anonymous]

Is misogynist, not isn't. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Still sounds better than Flowers in the Attic, but maybe not by much. I really wouldn't worry about it. (I admit, I've looked at the Sarah Maas books a couple times, but I just can't read them -- they're so stupid, characters, plot, everything.)

But wasn't that book delicious? Read it on vacation, passing it back and forth with my mom.

[Anonymous]

I would never allow it. If this is A Court of Thorns and Roses, here is what Commonsensemedia says:

Though the heated descriptions are usually more titillating than graphic, sex is a big part of the story, and it's not just the attraction between Feyre and Tamlin. As the story begins, Feyre's friends-with-benefits relationship with a village boy is ending; Tamlin, being immortal, has had many lovers. A character must play the starring role in a fertility rite, having ritual sex to ensure the year's crops.

Killing, mutilation, and gore -- of faeries, humans, and other species -- are a constant presence and vividly described, as when a faerie's wings are hacked off or another's head is impaled in the garden. Characters are sometimes forced to kill against their will; sometimes they do it enthusiastically. There's also strong sexual menace: One character becomes the lackey and sex slave of an evil queen to save his kingdom from a worse fate; Feyre is menaced by characters intent on raping and killing her and in other scenes is beaten until her bones fracture. The royals and courtiers of the various faerie Courts have a long history of deadly intrigue that often runs to wiping out all their relatives.

Recurring strong language includes "s--t," "damn," and "hell

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My concern wouldn't be that she's reading fantasy, but that she's reading fantasy aimed at a more mature audience. Try introducing her to Diana Wynne Jones books. Tamora Pierce also writes excellent YA fantasy. The Circle of Magic series is good for younger readers, and the Tortall books skew older, but when sex comes up in them, it is handled well, particularly in terms of consent and protection against pregnancy.

Thanks for the recommendations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would never allow it. If this is A Court of Thorns and Roses, here is what Commonsensemedia says:

Though the heated descriptions are usually more titillating than graphic, sex is a big part of the story, and it's not just the attraction between Feyre and Tamlin. As the story begins, Feyre's friends-with-benefits relationship with a village boy is ending; Tamlin, being immortal, has had many lovers. A character must play the starring role in a fertility rite, having ritual sex to ensure the year's crops.

Killing, mutilation, and gore -- of faeries, humans, and other species -- are a constant presence and vividly described, as when a faerie's wings are hacked off or another's head is impaled in the garden. Characters are sometimes forced to kill against their will; sometimes they do it enthusiastically. There's also strong sexual menace: One character becomes the lackey and sex slave of an evil queen to save his kingdom from a worse fate; Feyre is menaced by characters intent on raping and killing her and in other scenes is beaten until her bones fracture. The royals and courtiers of the various faerie Courts have a long history of deadly intrigue that often runs to wiping out all their relatives.

Recurring strong language includes "s--t," "damn," and "hell

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses

Yes, that's the book. Thanks for the reference.

[Anonymous]

Has she read Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series? Very likely to appeal to a YA fantasy fan, but much tamer! Plus the series has a metric ton of books (really, there's like 20) so they will keep her going for a while.

Get her one for a holiday gift and she'll be hooked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has she read Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series? Very likely to appeal to a YA fantasy fan, but much tamer! Plus the series has a metric ton of books (really, there's like 20) so they will keep her going for a while.

Get her one for a holiday gift and she'll be hooked.

Thanks! I remembered reading those, so I tried them, with no luck. Maybe I'll give it another go.

[Anonymous]

Please just let her read what she wants.

If you forbid it, I hope she does what I used to do, which was to buy the books anyway when I was at the mall with my friends, and then sneak-read them in my room.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would never allow it. If this is A Court of Thorns and Roses, here is what Commonsensemedia says:

Though the heated descriptions are usually more titillating than graphic, sex is a big part of the story, and it's not just the attraction between Feyre and Tamlin. As the story begins, Feyre's friends-with-benefits relationship with a village boy is ending; Tamlin, being immortal, has had many lovers. A character must play the starring role in a fertility rite, having ritual sex to ensure the year's crops.

Killing, mutilation, and gore -- of faeries, humans, and other species -- are a constant presence and vividly described, as when a faerie's wings are hacked off or another's head is impaled in the garden. Characters are sometimes forced to kill against their will; sometimes they do it enthusiastically. There's also strong sexual menace: One character becomes the lackey and sex slave of an evil queen to save his kingdom from a worse fate; Feyre is menaced by characters intent on raping and killing her and in other scenes is beaten until her bones fracture. The royals and courtiers of the various faerie Courts have a long history of deadly intrigue that often runs to wiping out all their relatives.

Recurring strong language includes "s--t," "damn," and "hell

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses

I have a 10 year old who loves reading "older" books and I would not be thrilled with this either, OP. It just seems like a lot of themes that 10 year olds aren't really able to process yet.

[Anonymous]

I learned a lot about sex from flowers in the attic, princess daisy, and lace at ten. I realize that is disturbing, but seriously, whatever is depicted in those ya fantasy books is still better than the internet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would never allow it. If this is A Court of Thorns and Roses, here is what Commonsensemedia says:

Though the heated descriptions are usually more titillating than graphic, sex is a big part of the story, and it's not just the attraction between Feyre and Tamlin. As the story begins, Feyre's friends-with-benefits relationship with a village boy is ending; Tamlin, being immortal, has had many lovers. A character must play the starring role in a fertility rite, having ritual sex to ensure the year's crops.

Killing, mutilation, and gore -- of faeries, humans, and other species -- are a constant presence and vividly described, as when a faerie's wings are hacked off or another's head is impaled in the garden. Characters are sometimes forced to kill against their will; sometimes they do it enthusiastically. There's also strong sexual menace: One character becomes the lackey and sex slave of an evil queen to save his kingdom from a worse fate; Feyre is menaced by characters intent on raping and killing her and in other scenes is beaten until her bones fracture. The royals and courtiers of the various faerie Courts have a long history of deadly intrigue that often runs to wiping out all their relatives.

Recurring strong language includes "s--t," "damn," and "hell

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses

Generally, when darker themes are included in such quantity, it means the book is terrible, and the author has to motivate people to read it somehow.

[Anonymous]

This book sounds like porn and also sadistic. I would not be okay with it. My daughter is 5 so we aren't there yet, but I think I would read the book also and sit down with her and be specific about what is unhealthy in it.
Then I would direct her to The Perilous Gard, by Elizabeth Marie Pope, and also Fire & Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones. Both stories engage with the ancient European mythos of the Fae stealing humans, but also are age appropriate, exciting stories, strong heroines, and generally more wholesome.

[Anonymous]

There is plenty of good fantasy fiction for mid-grade. If it were my daughter, I'd let her know that she will appreciate these teenage books so much more when she is older, and that if she reads them now instead of books meant for her age, she will both miss the best part of these books and miss a whole segment of literature that will not be as interesting to her when she is older. For every age there is a library. Don't miss a step.

In any case, I urge you to actually read it yourself first, and then decide.

Julia Kagawa's Iron King series (not the Manga versions) is faerie based and had some romantic overtones but remains age appropriate (e.g., the girl has a flushing sensation she can't quite understand when the boy walks over -- that sort of thing).

Kiki Hamilton's "The Faerie Ring" series would work too for mid-grade.

Laura Sullivan's "Under the Green Hill" series has characters the right age for a 10-year old.

Paul Crilley's "The Invisible Order" series is also aimed at this age group.

You can keep her interested in the genre without the sex for now.