to not want DD to read Twilight..

[LelloLorry]

DD2 has been asking for me to buy her the Twilight books for some weeks since her friends are reading them, but tbh, I really don't want her to read this.

I decided to see what it was about though when I searched here a few weeks ago and discovered fans of the series called themselves twilight sluts, I immediately thought 'Hell no!' and left it at that.

DD2s friends gave her a book today and I banned Twilight from the house .
Thinking now I might have overreacted, and really need to see exactly what this book is about.
Advice please?

This is how boring it is

ooopps

No she hasn't!!!

She just gets her 30yr old self into a total huff normally shouts something about me "Not understanding Edward like she does.." and storms off to her room!

(Normally that happens when we visit her..I realise "Her Room" makes it sound like she still lives with my parents)

Yet 10 minutes on here and you manage to shoot holes in everything i say Trillian You have bested me!

I don't think that they are any worse than an other throw away books, and to be honest I think that there is a time and a place to read rubbish. Who reads good literature all the time?

I did find the total obsessionalism in the second book tedious and the end of the fourth book terribly pat (but not as bad as Harry Potter), but apart from that it's just a silly romp really.

I don't understand people trying to reassure the OP by saying, 'let her read them, she'll find them boring and lose interest', when the evidence is overwhelmingly to the contrary, given the legions of teenage fans.

However, I do agree you should just let her read them, as you make a far bigger deal out of banning them. As others have said, use them as a spring board for further discussion.

My Mum was horrified when I brought home borrowed copies of Sweet Valley High (drivvel) and the Clan of the Cave Bear (explicit) - made her objections roundly known but didn't ban them.

I have long-since looked back on both lots of books with adult understanding and realised they are complete tosh. And the COTCB books certainly didn't make me rush out and have sex.

Banning books is never a good thing. You needn't worry about sluttishness, as the the main character gets fobbed off with a "no sex before marriage" message for the first 3 books. It's harmless at that.

However, what some people call a "romantic relationship" could be be described as abusive relationship by others, and the book is full of that.

I'd recommend to buy the books for your daughter (from a charity shop, no point in making Ms Meyer more money for that crap) and read them yourself, too.

Then talk to her about it and why it is full of misogynist, dangerous claptrap, and that if she ever intends to enter a relationship like Bella has with Edward that she needs a good slap.

And definitely guide her towards books which have interesting, funny, clever heroines, with even just a touch of charisma, to make up for the vapid Bells.

Why she has two men after her, I'll never know. Edward has been said to be from the Mr Darcy school of romantic hero (um, not!), well Bella is about as far removed from the witty, independent, you-have-to-work-to-earn-my-affections Lizzie as it's possible to get, and she's 200 years in the past...!

Agree with WidowWadman - they are complete and utter shite, but not for the sex reasons, but for the fact that the heroine (if you can call her that) falls for a complete and utter testbook passive aggressive asbuser/control freak, all dressed up as 'perfect romance'.

Fuck knows what is going on the Stephenie Meyer's head, frankly. I just assume she was on mescalin for the last book.

Why not just read the damn book?

YANBU you should burn all the books you don't approve of!! I think you are being a bit facist too.

Seriously, she's 12! I had read everything I could get my hands on by 12 (including the Virginia Abdrews ones too ghoulysses). The Twilight books are fab & harmless & extremely chaste too until book 4 when they get married.

But no, don't bloody ban it.

I got out the Marquis de sade from the library at her age.

Oh goodness let her read them. Let her read anything. The only thing that springs to mind that I might discourage is American Psycho and I can't imagine it is a likely arrival in the house.

If you have concerns, it is your job as a parent to read the books yourself and talk to her about them (possibly about Bella's doormat tendencies and how all the male characters get to do the exciting stuff whilst she waits around being protected by them.)

hmmmmmmm GOML they were sooo completely shite you read all of them?????

What FindingGuysMojo said.... Well GetOrf? Well? So shite that you read 4 of the bloody things?

They are quite badly written and if you really think about it, some of the themes are unpleasant but a twelve year old would just see it as being a bit swoony and romantic that Edward is so devoted to Bella, and the imprinting thing with the werewolves. My 11yo DSD loves the films, don't think she's read the books yet though.

Basically, I don't think you should ban her reading them. Let her read the first one, after you've read it. It's very tame anyway and quite frankly some moments are so infuriating, it might put her off reading the others.

Want a good vampire book?

Get her this!

Abrahm Lincoln Vampire Hunter

Also,

Queen Victoria Demon Hunter

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

IMHO 12 is perfectly old enough for your DD to read and make her own mind up as to what she thinks.

Telling people what they can and can't read is tantamount to telling them what to to think, surely.

Oh I had to. They were compelling in a shite way. Like Dan Brown and Harry Potter, you keep on reading whilst knowing it is a load of old rubbish, because you want to know what happens.

My take on this is that I don't ban books but I will not spend my money buying dcs books that I don't like, they can spend their own money on that.

I would never restrict reading - she can go to a library and look at anything. I remember surreptitiously reading "The Carpet baggers" and "Portnoy's Complaint" at that age with no disastrous consequences.

They're very badly written but perfectly tame!

Although I have heard the whole Twilight series described thus:

"One woman's choice between necrophilia and bestiality."

I agree with GetOrf and cory. I wouldn't buy this sort of book for dd, but she was welcome to spend her own money on one or chose one as a reward. They aren't worse than plenty of other books, and HP does rather spring to mind, although both my two got bored about half way through. Nothing that wrong with a bit of page turning rubbish - I certainly read a fair amount of low brow stuff too.

One good thing is that for any half way sensible child it is obvious that Bella is the most wet and feeble character. dd reads lots of books with strong feisty girls who she much admires, so I'm not too concerned.

It's not so bad really. The writing is awful but it's not aimed at adults (despite all the die-hard grown women who will tell you otherwise ) - it's aimed at 12-15 year old girls.

My 14-yr-old sister is addicted. She has all the kit - even a life-size cardboard cutout of Edward . She would love to be a vampire and for it to be real. But she definitely knows it's not, and that Bella is a huge wet noodle (especially in the films - give me a break Kristen Stewart). She would definitely not use the books as a basis for her future relationships, or whatever.

It's just like when HP came out and everyone thought children were going to be corrupted into performing witchcraft. Er - yeah.