12 year old obsessed with Jacqueline Wilson books.. Aibu to think there is better out there?

My 12 year old is in a similar phase. I like JW - well written, interesting characters. Also introducing her to concepts like foster care or having shit parents that she won't be learning through real life right now. I always ask what she is reading and try to discuss some of the themes with her.

She used to read pure waffle - like Rainbow fairies! So I thought it was a win.

Quite. I'd imagine the banning of a boom makes most,if not all, people want to buy or borrow it, not leave it well alone!

Have any books been banned in your state?

It just means it can't be read or borrowed in those places. It's ridiculous and is probably responsible for a lot of best-sellers. Also remember that a lot of conservative Christian home-schoolers effectively do the same thing but of course that's an individual decision.

So what happens if a school or library bans a book? Does it mean it just can't be read or borrowed at those places or does it mean you can't get that book in that town at all?

I find it fascinating how strong reactions are to some books that they want them banned!

I always think JKR (whose stance on women's rights I wholly support - great woman!) is the equivalent of Enid Blyton. Her tales, like Blyton's, do not conceal the magic from e.g. the Dursleys, and the magic is accepted and used by all the adults, they being wizards and witches - her parallel universe does not hide in plain sight, it sort of wriggles through reality in ways that must be cleared up by magic occasionally. Edith Nesbit, on the other hand, has the magic concealed, the world of the children is a private world that meets the adult world only on occasion. For example, there is a bit in 'Five Children and It' where angels' wings are requested and a man sees the children flying, thus giving him a spiritual experience leading to him being nice to his wife. There is also the horrific moment in 'The Enchanted Castle' where dummies come to life - the children pass it off as using strings; luckily only servants saw this (Nesbit's attitude to servants is Victorian but does illustrate how early 'socialists' saw the working classes, which is of interest in itself). Apart from these examples (which are central parts of the plot) the magic is in parallel entirely so that, again in 'Five Children and It', the children inhabit a besieged castle whilst the servants go on with preparing lunch around them. Nesbit definitely writes better than Blyton or JKR in 'Harry Potter' (and had as peculiar and unsettling a home life as Blyton partly expressed in her books, for the children are frequently left to their own devices by busy or absent parents) and I would recommend her books to yr 6 and yr 7 children (DD - well beyond those years - still reads them). JKR is better in the Strike books, but still involved in convoluted plots (not something I care to criticise, since I like complex plots).

@RedOnyx You are probably right - I just let mine read anything in the teen section.

I read a lot of them at a similar age, and some of them have stuck with me for entirely the wrong reasons! Some were very graphic in terms of descriptions, and there was one, I forget the title, that went on at great length and detail, about the physical abuse of a girl by her step-father (I think). Up to that point I think it was one of the most violent things I'd ever read.
I progressed from them to Virginia Andrews and Danielle Steel, who are both pretty problematic in their own way!

As everyone's saying - she's reading. That's good.

But as it's come up, can I recommend AS King. Some say she's the best writers for kids currently working. Me, I'd say she's just a great writer, however old you are.

A Town Called Perfect is great!

One of Us Is Lying isn't really for 12 year olds though - unless there's another series with the same name?

Omg I was born in 1994 and obsessed with Jacqueline Wilson books, the the themes are more geared to pre teen.

I love the Jo Nesbo Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder and other DP ones, they're hilarious and I'm a fully grown adult!

It's her choice to read them, she loves them so leave her alone. It's better she reads JW than those revolting Mills & Boon crap! And at least she's reading a physical book instead of mucking about on tablets or stuck in front of senseless rubbish on the telly!

I'm 59 now but have loved horror and psycho films and books since aged 5 when I saw my first horror film and I was ALWAYS been shouted at by teachers and others for reading such things instead of ''girls books''.

Just let her read what she wants, whether its JW or really deep dark Shakespeare or anything, she's expanding her mind and learning!

I'm surprised you find them inappropriate when I'd say they are more likely to be read by younger children. Perhaps she would like to read more age-appropriate books but is self-censoring as she fears your disapproval?

I'm perfectly capable of reading complex literature but sometimes nothing quite beats relaxing with Julia Quinn or Katie Fforde despite neither being particularly skilled writers.

And JW is vastly better than JK R...

I would recommend the Maze Runner series and Miss Peregrine series. They are a more appropriate reading level whilst not actually having inappropriate themes. Also Sachar -the person who wrote Holes. Also a Town called Perfect and One of us is Lying series.

@LovelyBitOfHam not really.
Some are for younger readers but most are perfectly fine for 12. Many of the characters are secondary school age.

Isn’t 12 a little old for JW?

When I was at school she was more of a primary school year author.

Really?! As I remember there are three weird sisters but it's main drift seems to be scientific - mitochondria - and interested in looking at how society controls people. The US is just weird.

There are the most extraordinary number of books banned in the US, including one called The Cupcake Bible which, I can only presume, got banned for the use of the word 'bible'. However, the word 'bible' came from Ancient Greek (βιβλίον) and simply means scroll or book.

It's a strange world.

I didn't take it as a personal attack. Just trying to explain that the book is not banned by any whole state but by individual schools and libraries, usually in ultra-conservative areas. According to the American Library Association it was number 23 in the list of frequently-banned books.

This list has also included such dangerous and scary books as Charlotte's Web ( talking animals are “unnatural and blasphemous as humans are the highest level of God’s creation”), Brown Bear What Do You See (the Texas Board of Education accidentally mistook Bill Martin Jr., the author of over 300 innocent children’s books, for Bill Martin, the author of Ethical Marxism: The Categorical Imperative of Liberation), and the American Heritage Dictionary (because it contained inappropriate entries. One of these included the word bed, “due to its use as a verb in slang.”)

Yes, some Americans are nuts. Not all of us though.

I love mills and boon books love the old ones.
Better than having my face in a phone.
I like a book as in paper book that i can open page by page not downloaded on some device.

I'm interested to see some posters say they read Stephen King as a child but don't now. I read them as a teen (Gerald's game was an interesting one as a 14 year old) and I still read them now. I always get his new ones for Chriatmas- bloody love them.

Currently reading a series by Rebecca Shaw about a handsome vicar. Not gritty, very easy to read. Nice escapism (and helping me ignore the book about Trauma informed care that I actually need to read).

But reading JW now doesn't mean she won't ever read any other "beautifully written children's book" will it?

Books are springboards to other books and depressingly you're never likely to read all the books you want in a lifetime. I've got books on my shelf that I've had since I was 26 and still not read and I'm 43.

I'd never stop a child from reading what they've chose. Offer alternatives but never stop them.

I never disrespect others by criticising their choice of reading material either. Book snobs are horrible people!

Nothing wrong with her, but she was considered contentious when I was a teen.

Anything American was suspect to start off with...

I borrowed my mum's copy of Haunted by James Herbert aged 11 (without her knowledge) and gave myself nightmares 😅
Oops, I meant to quote the post above!

She's reading, which is a great start! I feel so sad when I ask my students what they are reading and they respond, 'I'm not - I don't like reading.' They're missing out on so much.

She'll get through the JW phase and hopefully, will continue to read - there's a lot of YA literature out there that is very graphic so you may find yourself looking back on the JW years with fond nostalgia!

I wouldn't say she's trashy but I wouldn't say her books are well written either. Unless you like one basic sentence after another..

Possibly the OP is thinking of all the beautifully written children's books out there.?

But then I was an avid fan of The Famous Five and Mallory Towers at that age.
DH was a fan of James Herbert (still is) . His parents were blissfully ignorant of the subject matter. JH himself refused to allow his own teenaged kids to read his books!