To let my 16 year old read this book?

[rivver]

So my 16 year old dd is currently reading slash’s autobiography, I understand it includes everything he and Guns n’ Roses got up to, she keeps telling me all the in and outs of what she’s reading. She’s horrified as to what he got up to and how he is still alive today but finds the book so interesting, I don’t think it’s an inappropriate book to read, she’s nearly 17.

Yesterday my sister and mum came over for my youngest dd birthday, and my dd told her what book she’s reading. Today I received a text from my mum saying how her and my sister think it’s disgusting that I’m letting her read the book, I have no control, I’m allowing her to know about the ‘dark world’, and that I’m encouraging her to do drugs? I haven’t replied as I’m baffled as to why she’s reacted so badly. I know it’s a book that explicitly tells you what he did and that it isn’t exactly nice but she’s old enough to know that’s wrong, do I need to seriously stop her from reading it? Or is my mum overreacting?

As long as she's reading I don't think it really matters. She's 16 and could be married. I never restricted my dc reading and my dm let me read anything.

I may be worried if a child was trying to read Marquis de Sade but I'd guess they'd be bored pretty quickly.

Trying to censor what a 16 year old is reading is unnecessary and doomed to failure in any event. She's old enough to leave home!

The fact she is talking to you about what she is reading shows that communication between you is great - which is much more important.

My Mum went to boarding school. They were given a list of banned books. Guess what happened? As a result she never banned us from reading anything although I think she was horrified at Flowers in the Attic and Lace when she picked them up to flick through but never stopped us reading them. My reading is a bit more high brow these days!

Having said that at what age is it OK. I read my first sex scene in the book of the film 'Fame' which I got on my school trip in primary seven. DD1 is a similar age but although she knows the factual stuff about sex I don't really want her to read or watch anything titillating.

Last time I saw Slash, he was riding on a miniature train in Leicestershire! (After appearing at Download the night before)
Not so Rock'n' Roll.

My Mum went to boarding school. They were given a list of banned books.

I bet one of them was Forever Amber! I remember reading a Chalet School book (I think) and one of the new girls who was clearly in need of dire intervention showed her lack of wholesomeness by being caught reading Forever Amber. I've always mean to read it so see how scandalous it actually is. I suspect not very!

Totally ridiculous of your Mum and sister. I would be really annoyed that they felt it was ok to criticise my parenting.
She is nearly 17!! She could be at university in a year.
We have a 16year old DS and treat him pretty much as an adult.

What IS a zipless fuck?

She's reading it. She's discussing it with you.
Don't see an issue. Your Mum is likely to cause more problems by suggesting it is a problem.
Talking about things openly is far healthier than her reading books you've your DM decided to ban.

@scandaloso - I have just read the Wikipedia summary (en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forever_Amber) and it sounds just the kind of thing of which a true Chalet School Girl would disapprove. It sounds fab.

I was reading all sorts of filth at 16, because, reassuringly, I wasn’t doing any of it myself! Leave her to it OP, it’s very normal to be interested in potentially taboo things at that age without actually doing them!

How would you stop a 16 year old??? I read Riders at 11

Flowers in the attic as a young teen anyone???

Practically everyone I knew was reading Flowers In The Attic In Year 8 or Year 9

a) she can fuck right off with censoring books for people over the age of consent

b) it talks about the consequences

c) it's not Steven Adler's book, which is fucking dire

d) it's Slash

e) bet she hasn't read more than an Amazon review

f) she can fuck off

Tell her to read Anthony Kiedis autobiography next- how that guy is still alive is a mystery

Ha, yes! Absolutely nuts, fascinating insight.

At 16, I don't think you can stop her reading whatever she wants, even if you wanted to. Better she continues to enjoy sharing what she's reading anyway, rather than hiding it away.

When I was about 8, and until she stopped buying them regularly in my mid teens, my mother used to hand over her read copies of Take a Break, That's Life, Chat, Best, etc, and I'd read nearly every story. Now that's probably worse than Slash's autobiography, and I'm not going down any of the "shocking real life" routes I read about then!

@EdwardScissorskills, it sounds like a brilliant romp indeed! Definitely going on my To Read list

I thought Izzy was really cool until I read Slash's autobiography!

I have no idea black. A sort of seemless and fumble-free shag I think. I could never quite work it out. All my shags feel fairly zipped to be honest

Hah! Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City in the last year of primary school. Interesting education about cock rings that was....

highonthehill was it rats?

I remember finding that in my parents office when I was about 8 and reading it without asking as I thought it looked ‘cool’

I'd forgotten about Lace and the goldfish.... I was a young teen with that one. Precocious reader, fast reader, avid reader.... I used to put a towel at the bottom of the door and hang something over the door handle, to stop light shining through below the door and through the keyhole. I'd read until late at night... still do!

My DM would have loved to have banned me I think, if she knew how much and what I read!!!

Christ I learnt everything from books
Thanks Shirley Conran and the local Library
And I was younger than your DD

Good response, OP.

The more I think about it, the more ridiculous it seems.

I read incessantly as a child/teenager and have carried on into adulthood via an English Lit degree. I am now a writer, and still read obsessively. My parents would never have thought of 'censoring' what I read. I just read, and read, and read. I only had two criticisms of this, ever, both from DM. One was when she took me to an art gallery and I read a novel all the way round, rather than looking at any pictures (a mistake, in retrospect). I might have been Making A Point. The other was when I was a young teenager and she got fed up with me for having finished some of my library books behind the curtain in the library window before she had chosen her own. I'm not sure she lost any sleep over any of this, though.

I read Forever Amber and My Sweet Audrina younger than that, they belonged to DM and she always left her books lying around. She caught me reading them and her only comment was please don't drop them in the bath. Our house was very open with books and TV and much complex discussion came from it.