Reply to My eleven year old wants to read romance novels.

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Give her Forever by Judy Blume to read.  I remember checking it out of the library when I was 12, and loved it.  And then I read the VC Andrews books - OMG those were insane.  I also read some of my grandmother's racy romance novels that she left lying around at that age, and I'm fine.

Reading is awesome and you should encourage it as much as possible.  Maybe draw the line at the really graphic hard core stuff, but some light romance should be ok.[/quote]

Nice to meet you DCUM twin. [/quote]

Romance and sex are different things.  Sometimes they go together (romance with sex or sex with romance).  But sometimes they don't (romance that does not lead to explicit sex or sex that does not involve romance).

OP's 11 year old asked to read "romance novels".  You all are recommending books with explicit sex scenes.  But neither of your recommendations are romance novels.  They're literally not "romantic" at all.

Forever is about a 17 ior 18 year old's first sexual relationship.  That's the plot of the book, and I remember it centering the sex part, not the romance.  If my 11 year old found it herself, I wouldn't take it away, of course.  But if she were looking for "romance novels" there are so many other books out there that a better fit.

Similarly, the VC Andrews books are not romances either.  They're Gothic thrillers about twisted family secrets.  Of course, they also happen to have some explicit sex scenes.  But no romance that I remember.

When an 11 year old shows interest in "romance novels," maybe it helps to ask her what she means.  Like literally ask, "What do you mean?  Like books about teenagers dating or falling in love?"  If she's looking for a twisty thriller about a family with a history of incest, then you'll know to point her to VC Andrews.  But if she's looking for something more akin to her current or soon-to-be life experience, it's best to focus on books with characters close to her age who are experiencing the things that interest her.

That's always been a good rule of thumb for kids who ask for book recommendations.  Ask questions to better understand what they mean, and when there are bigger, adult themes involved (romance, violence, dystopian/societal issues), try to help them find books with main characters who are pretty close to their age.  In the world of children's literature (and YA fiction), this is often a helpful rule of thumb.

And I don't consider the VC Andrews books to be "romance" novels, either.  They're thrillers that again, have some explicit sex scenes.

If she happens to find Forever on her own and reads it, that's fine.  But it's not at all what I would recommend for an 11 year old who wants to read "romance" novels.

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