Are the Twlight books suitable for pre-teens? [POSSIBLE SPOILERS]

Red Sleeping Beauty · 22-12-2009 05:51AM #1

My mother was telling me that she got these Twilight books for my 11yr old sister and I remembered how someone described them to me. Something about sexual repression, unrealistic and idealized notions of love as well as some kind of love-triangle where the central character, a girl, must choose between two boys to be "the one".

Granted I've not read them so my opinion here will only get me so far but the theme(s) of these books don't really sound particularly suitable for children. I mean, is a big "love" story like this of forbidden love and that idea of love something people would be happy having their child read about? Films and all visual media is censored/controlled fairly heavily but there's very little attention paid to the content of books. Of course it is great that kids are reading but are there limits?

I know it's a very general question and people raise their kids differently with different morals than others etc., but in general are these kind of books with such adult themes something that would seem suitable for children under the 13/14 ?

Sleepy · 22-12-2009 09:52AM

I haven't read them but from what I've heard the books are aimed at the early teen market and the notion of sexual repression is dealt with more as a 'sex is bad, true love waits' kind of way that something from Mills & Boone,

Nevyn · 22-12-2009 10:02AM

I've read the first two as they are susposedly vampire fiction and found them to be awful as that and that aside I would not consider them suitible for pre teens due the angst and content in them.

The contents of books are rated by most shops if you are in there there are different age sections, but it is the same with anything else parents have to decide for themselves. My 11 nearly 12 year old is working his way through my Terry Prachett collection atm.

Jumpy · 22-12-2009 10:04AM

I would say the first two are easily suitable for pre-teens. The second two are a maybe, depending on how strict you are.

It also depends on their reading level. Its not a tough read by any means.

Jumpy · 22-12-2009 10:23AM

Red Sleeping Beauty wrote: »

Something about sexual repression, unrealistic and idealized notions of love as well as some kind of love-triangle where the central character, a girl, must choose between two boys to be "the one".

This part is not at all sinister. If this is your main concern I really wouldnt worry.

DOC09UNAM · 22-12-2009 10:27AM

Depends, if the vampire or wolf is a rapist, then no.

But i dont think so.

Monkey61 · 22-12-2009 07:21PM

The first one (and maybe the second) is okay as long as you are comfortable with an 11 year old reading about teenage relationships and such. From the second or third one in though, sex starts to be mentioned quite a bit.

Bella is begging the vampire to sleep with her, he's saying no because he is afraid he will hurt her etc.

I managed to plough through the first three (I work in the kids section in a bookshop so wanted to be informed) but couldn't bring myself to pick up the fourth. They are pretty rubbish. But...from talking to everyone in work, apparently the final one is pretty filthy, lots of sex and pretty graphic scenes of

the girl giving birth to a human/vampire hybrid baby with lots of clawing and bone breaking and other such gruesomeness.

Eh...so I'll maybe leave it up to you to decide if you think that is okay for an 11 year old. Personally I'd say no.

Jumpy · 22-12-2009 07:24PM

Erm, not everyone has read the books, keep it to what is appropriate, people dont appreciate spoilers.

Red Sleeping Beauty · 22-12-2009 07:40PM

Jumpy wrote: »

This part is not at all sinister. If this is your main concern I really wouldnt worry.

I'm not suggesting that there is anything sinister per se in the books and I also don't have a "worry". I was just looking for a discussion on the book's suitablility to pre-teen children considering the themes of the them.

Jumpy wrote: »

Erm, not everyone has read the books, keep it to what is appropriate, people dont appreciate spoilers.

I've changed the thread title to warn people of any possible spoilers.

Monkey61 wrote: »

The first one (and maybe the second) is okay as long as you are comfortable with an 11 year old reading about teenage relationships and such. From the second or third one in though, sex starts to be mentioned quite a bit. Bella is begging the vampire to sleep with her, he's saying no because he is afraid he will hurt her etc.

This is the kinda thing I'm talking about. Are parents happy to let their children be reading about such adult themes as this? There are probably a pletora of similar books or whatever but this Twilight thing seems to be one of those "fads" that will probably engrosse many an 11yr old and perhaps shape and influence them profoundly.

As I said, I'm not a parent so I accept that my opinion will only get me so far but hypothetically speaking I don't think these kind of stories would be particularly suitable for the pre-teen group, at least not unsupervised.

Even the movie and tie-ins seem to be something aimed much more at older age groups. Having worked in a cinema I can testify that there are many parents that don't pay much head to the age limits on films.

Nevyn · 22-12-2009 07:49PM

Some people seem to think that ah sure it's a book what harm, and while I put very few restrictions on what my children read I keep and eye and I won't let them read anything which I am not yet ready to have conversations with them about.

There are plenty of good books out there which an 11year old can read, once you know what they are into but I would sooner be giving a child of 11yrs the BFG, charlie and the chocolatefactory and James and the gaint peach then Twlight.

byhookorbycrook · 22-12-2009 08:28PM

no, I don't think they are suitable for pre-teens. BFG etc would be a bit easy for an 11 yr old. I'd go for the Under the Hawthorn tree and other books by Maria Conlon Mckenna, The run swift run free books(fox series) by Tom Mc Caughren or books by Kate Thomson like the New Police man(though her "Annann water" book is a bit dark for that age group, so best skipped)

Jumpy · 22-12-2009 11:21PM

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

no, I don't think they are suitable for pre-teens. BFG etc would be a bit easy for an 11 yr old. I'd go for the Under the Hawthorn tree and other books by Maria Conlon Mckenna, The run swift run free books(fox series) by Tom Mc Caughren or books by Kate Thomson like the New Police man(though her "Annann water" book is a bit dark for that age group, so best skipped)

I still have the Run Swift, Run Free books from when I was a kid. I got them as a present from an Irish relation. Still one of my favorite series.
+1 On these.

Demonique · 23-12-2009 02:29AM

No, they're definately not suitable for pre-teens or even teenagers IMO

They portray an abusive relationship as normal.

In the second book, Edward leaves Bella and she contemplates suicide (great message for teenage girls, your boyfriend leaves you, attempt suicide!)

He sneaks into her room and watches her sleep (stalkerish)

The final book in the series. The baby is 'born' by having a werewolf tear it out of her mother with his teeth.

AvaKinder · 23-12-2009 02:39AM

I've read all four and I definitely wouldn't be comfortable letting a preteen read the fourth one yet. While I'm 23 and have read some fairly graphic stuff I was quite shocked by how graphic sex/birth/inappropriate relations ie the shifters 'imprinting' on babies/toddlers considering the age group that the books are aimed at.

A similiar series which, while it does contain sex (although the lead character is late twenties) but is less graphic would be the Charlaine Harris Southern Vampire Mysteries, however True Blood the tv show which is based on the books does contain nudity etc so wouldn't be suitable.

To be honest though I've yet to read a vampire book that doesn't contain sex.

The books are an easy read so I would suggest skimming them yourself. But Breaking Dawn (book 4) would really be one for older kids.

That being said I read books far in advance of my age when I was younger, and my grandmother inadvertently gave me a Mills & Boons-esque book at 12 and it didn't encourage me to engage in anything improper before my peers, or engage in promiscious or unsafe sex

we'llallhavetea_old · 23-12-2009 02:47AM

i vote no.
i read them all and to be honest 11 is way too young for them.
too mature and dark, 11yrs should be fun, not love til the death sh!te tbh.
just my 2cents

oh well · 23-12-2009 08:39PM

don't think they are suitable for this age group. My 16yr old read them and enjoyed them. I've read them too as my younger girl wanted to read them and I wanted to see what it was all about. The actual reading level is quite young - no great literature in them, fairly easy sentances, etc but the content is definitely questionable for pre or early teens. my 11yr old asked why I wouldn't leave her read them so just explained that there was grown up love in them, boy/girl dating, etc - she wasn't in the least interested after that. From my experience most 11yr olds wouldn't be interested in reading about boy/girl stuff anyway, great to maybe have a laugh at and a snigger over but thats it. The hype that went into the release of the 1st movie last year and the re-release of and promotion of the books all geared them at teenage girls but I really don't believe they should be aimed at young teens (and definitely not pre-teens).

If you do let them read the 1st book, and they enjoy it, it would be very hard not to let them read the remainder of the series and it does draw young girls in.

iguana · 23-12-2009 10:38PM

I'm wondering if some people have forgotten what it's like to be an eleven year old and how much about sex eleven year olds actually know. When I was eleven my entire class had read Judy Blume's Forever. And we used to tear the problem pages out of newspapers and read them aloud in the playground. The News of the World page was the most popular as it was the naughtiest and got the biggest laughs. Eleven year olds are well aware of sex for the most part and they tend to find it pretty hilarious.

I haven't read Twilight but from what I have heard the female lead is not a great role model. That she finds some pretty disturbing behaviour, such as stalking and objectification, as romantic. I'd worry more about the lessons it's teaching young girls about relationships and the nature of love than about the fact that the characters have sexual feelings or sex.

username123 · 24-12-2009 01:42PM

I havent read them myself but have been an avid reader since childhood and nothing was ever censored. More likely because if I wanted to read something that my parents may have questioned I just didnt read it in plain view and didnt leave it lying around. At 11 I was reading books with very graphic sexual content, and stories about abusive realtionships etc.. I understood that I was reading 'stories'. I did not base my ideas of relationships on anything I ever read, but on the world I saw around me. Children who read a lot know that they are reading fiction - they know vampires dont exist, and in that context would know the relationships they are reading about are fictional.

You can disapprove of your childs reading material but if they want to read something they will do so, borrowed from someone, hidden from your view, read outside of the home etc... I know I did anyway. Most of the adult content I read was from the books on the shelves in our home, I would read a bit when no one was around, replace the book on the shelf, go back to it when I got another chance etc. Sometimes I borrowed books from other friends and just hid them in my room til I had them read.

Im not suggesting what is suitable and what isnt, but just offering the view of a reader who found ways to read whatever they wanted.

Red Sleeping Beauty · 27-12-2009 10:27PM

Thaedydal wrote: »

Some people seem to think that ah sure it's a book what harm, and while I put very few restrictions on what my children read I keep and eye and I won't let them read anything which I am not yet ready to have conversations with them about.

There are plenty of good books out there which an 11year old can read, once you know what they are into but I would sooner be giving a child of 11yrs the BFG, charlie and the chocolatefactory and James and the gaint peach then Twlight.

This is kinda the point I was going for. There are huge restrictions on images - films, games etc. - and in general it's assumed that allowing children a la carte access to the internet is a bad idea a.

BUT... with books it's different isn't it? My sister's started reading the books already. It'll be interesting to see what effect they'll have and if her view on relationships are shaped by them in some way.

wolfpawnat · 27-12-2009 10:42PM

I have and have read the books, I am 22 and I can say the girl Bella is no role model. She loves both lead males and tortures them both throughout the series. She dives off a huge cliff and spends months in severe depression over a man. She tries to pressurise her partner into sexual intercourse and the consequence pregnancy sounds so bad that the only use this book serves is to terrify the under 16's into using contraception.

Also 2 of the wolves find their true loves in the forms of a 2yr old and a new born. VERY disturbing

hitlersson666 · 01-01-2010 01:25AM

AvaKinder wrote: »

I've read all four and I definitely wouldn't be comfortable letting a preteen read the fourth one yet. While I'm 23 and have read some fairly graphic stuff I was quite shocked by how graphic sex/birth/inappropriate relations ie the shifters 'imprinting' on babies/toddlers considering the age group that the books are aimed at.

A similiar series which, while it does contain sex (although the lead character is late twenties) but is less graphic would be the Charlaine Harris Southern Vampire Mysteries, however True Blood the tv show which is based on the books does contain nudity etc so wouldn't be suitable.

To be honest though I've yet to read a vampire book that doesn't contain sex.

The books are an easy read so I would suggest skimming them yourself. But Breaking Dawn (book 4) would really be one for older kids.

That being said I read books far in advance of my age when I was younger, and my grandmother inadvertently gave me a Mills & Boons-esque book at 12 and it didn't encourage me to engage in anything improper before my peers, or engage in promiscious or unsafe sex

i would not advise that

byhookorbycrook · 01-01-2010 01:29AM

The main reason I don't like the Twilight series is that they really are not very good,there are so many excellent titles out there,I'd really go for most anything else.

pljudge321 · 01-01-2010 08:41PM

How about the His Dark Materials trilogy or Garth Nix's Old Kingdom series if your looking for some slightly more mature fantasy books that would still be suitable for that age bracket.

byhookorbycrook · 01-01-2010 09:05PM

pljudge321 wrote: »

How about the His Dark Materials trilogy or Garth Nix's Old Kingdom series if your looking for some slightly more mature fantasy books that would still be suitable for that age bracket.

The last book of the Dark Materials series is,well,a little dark.

snuggles09 · 01-01-2010 11:53PM

I've watched Twilight and New Moon with my 7 year old. I've read the books but obviousley she hasn't..she loves the films

littlebitdull · 02-01-2010 10:05PM

My 11 year old niece has read the twilight books, as has my elder daughter - who read them when they were very new and before the big hype - we had to import the last two from the states for her. She is however 16 so I had no worries there.

I read them myself, simply because my daughter was interested in them, and I wanted to be able to chat to her on a common level.

They should be a great story, a love story between a teenager and a vampire, with warewolves thrown into the mix. But in all honesty they are rubbish. The story is patchy, Bella is a rotten role model for young girls, and the writing is mediocre at best.

I would be discouraging my younger daughter from reading them, simply due to my own low opinion of the storyline!

It would seem that the authors main message wants to be one of chasity and that to really love properly you must be married. That its best to wait for marrage before becoming sexual - but its a bit of a cheat if you then have your main charactor get over that hurdle by marrying at 18!!

Try some of the many other great books out there - Inkheart, Eldest, The Edge Chronicles amongst others.

iguana · 02-01-2010 10:33PM

littlebitdull wrote: »

It would seem that the authors main message wants to be one of chasity and that to really love properly you must be married. That its best to wait for marrage before becoming sexual - but its a bit of a cheat if you then have your main charactor get over that hurdle by marrying at 18!!

Well the author is a strict Mormon who attended Brigham Young University (a Mormon school in Utah). Once she graduated at 21 she married the man she had been involved with since her childhood. She doesn't smoke, drink alcohol or caffeine and practiced abstinence until her marriage, all tenets of Mormon faith.

Tootle · 03-01-2010 04:08PM

I've read the four books recently as I enjoyed the 2 movies. I've no problem with her being in love with the vampire or feeling depressed at him leaving. That sort of thing happens in real life and I'm not sure everyone can relate to it. What I do have a problem with is the fact that Bella is striving for this beauty and perfection. That she is a weak human and she wants to be part of this beautiful and perfect world of Vampires. What sort of message is this giving out to teens or pre teens?

Sophsxxx · 10-01-2010 03:10AM

The books would be suitable for teenagers but for any kids younger than 12...no way. The books are very depressing in the way that Edward and Bella can't live without each other....so he has to kill her.

Also the books are a total rip-off of true blood. Used to love twilight til I started watching TB on tg4 (Wouldn't let your kids watch that either!)

eviltwin · 10-01-2010 03:36PM

I read the Twilight series first and once the first movie came out my then 11 year old daughter jumped on the band wagon and started reading them.

I didnt have a problem with it but then she's a fairly clued in child and we talked a lot about the book and the issues contained in it so I was quite happy to let her. Plus having already read them myself I was happy with the content. She actually got bored by the middle of the third one anyway and hasn't bothered to read anymore of it.

I personally think its up to each child but its just a book and there are a lot of worse books out there our kids are reading. Some of the content of the books my daughter reads has had me shocked and I consider myself fairly liberal.

Are the Twlight books suitable for pre-teens? [POSSIBLE SPOILERS]

Comments