Hunger Games at 13!

[LesleyA]

My friend’s daughter is reading Hunger Games at school for this years set work/prescribed reading. I’m shocked. I understand the storyline but haven’t read it. My daughter gets creeped out reading Nancy Drew. Please tell me your opinions. Is it gruesome, appropriate, of benefit? I’m also wondering whether if it is fine whether I’m doing my daughter a disservice by not introducing her to those types of books if that’s what her peers are reading (advised by the school). Opinions please (on the book not my parenting).

Oh god can't read lord of the flies. It creeped me out as a kid. So much worse than the hunger games as it's more vindictive personal cruelty

The only thing that worries me about YA fiction is that the slightly formulaic nature and quick hooks tend to be making ds quite a lazy reader. He won't entertain anything like lotf because it doesn't instantly grab his attention. I feel he needs to learn the value of a slow burn, like those of us who grew up before the YA fiction explosion and read many pre 20th C and early 20th c texts because there was nothing else to read in the library.

I read Jilly Cooper’s Riders at about 13. As a pony mad kid I innocently thought it was about showjumping

My DD read books and watched films at slightly younger age than 13 and absolutely loved them. However all dc are different, so there's nothing wrong with your DD NOT reading the books if they don't appeal to her or she's easily distressed. However, I'd strongly recommend you read the books yourself before making judgements about how unsuitable or not they are. I'd previously read Hunger Games book which meant I could have good detailed discussions with DD about them (same with Harry Potter and many other books/series)

@Mynameidontremember

The only thing that worries me about YA fiction is that the slightly formulaic nature and quick hooks tend to be making ds quite a lazy reader. He won't entertain anything like lotf because it doesn't instantly grab his attention. I feel he needs to learn the value of a slow burn, like those of us who grew up before the YA fiction explosion and read many pre 20th C and early 20th c texts because there was nothing else to read in the library.

I wouldn't be too worried about this. I read a lot of very slow and quite challenging pre-1900 fiction but I have never got more than halfway through The Fellowship of the Ring because it is absolutely glacial. DH, OTOH, isn't a big reader of fiction as an adult but happily read all of LOTF and the Hobbit as a pre-teen, plus The Silmarillion.

If he likes fantasy then Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series might be more engaging.

I'd rather my 12 year old was reading it instead of watching it in D&T lessons, textiles focus?

I've never read lotr. All those fucking songs. And I'm someone who waded through a lot of mediaeval and renaissance lit at uni once upon a time, so I have sticking power!

He wants horror and dystopia. Not too keen on fantasy, from what I've seen. He's counting down to when he can read Stephen King. But I think if he reads them now, he might get bored of the adult issues. Might give him the Bachman ones- the running man. He got 2 more hunger games books, so we'll see. It's interesting to see what does grab him. Alex rider books do it for a lot of kids, but not him.

Charlie Higson's Young Bond?

@Mypathtriedtokillme

We read “Lord of the Fly” at that age and “Of Mice and Men” at 14.

(We also had to read The Handmaiden tale at 17.)

I mentioned Lord of the Flies but I forgot Of Mice and Men - we watched it on stage in year 9 or 10, that moment though 😫

The husband with the glove filled with Vaseline so it was soft for his wife stuck in my mind.

We had to read Night in 6th form which is also heavy going.

I really appreciate all of your input. For those suggesting I read it first well I wouldn’t be asking if I was able to read it first. I wanted to let her join in with peers if that’s what they are reading without having to spend months reading it first. Holding down 2 jobs and working 6 sometimes 7 days a week leaves little time for reading

There's little point getting het up and judgey about books you haven't read. Read them and judge for yourself.

Holding her back and infantilising her so she "gets upset by Nancy Drew" is doing her no favours.

@LesleyA

I really appreciate all of your input. For those suggesting I read it first well I wouldn’t be asking if I was able to read it first. I wanted to let her join in with peers if that’s what they are reading without having to spend months reading it first. Holding down 2 jobs and working 6 sometimes 7 days a week leaves little time for reading

Why are you not able to read it first? It wouldn't take "months", it's a short book for kids. Make time.

I read in bed last thing at night. It will not take months to read

It will take you an hour to read. It’s a book for children.

You could have read it in the time that you took to post on here , read and respond

My DD read them in year six. I don't get the outrage.

I would say 13 is a good age for The Hunger Games. I read a fascinating analysis of dystopian literature for teens, in which the writer argues that these books are popular in part because they present an allegory of the teenage social environment: arbitrary rules, strict social hierarchy, feeling that you are always being watched, but also feeling that no one cares who you really are as a person.

I'd recommend reading the books, at least the first one. It definitely won't take months to read.

YABU to judge it without having read it

13 is the target market for these books. Not all 13 year olds will enjoy them of course, but they’re not fundamentally inappropriate for a teen audience.

I was reading Stephen King at that age.

Of course you could read it first! In bed? During your lunch hour? Instead of TV in the evening? It would only take a couple of hours. My DD loves it when I read the books she's reading (although she refuses to discuss them!)

@Dishwashersaurous

It will take you an hour to read. It’s a book for children.

You could have read it in the time that you took to post on here , read and respond

If you are really pushed for time then Common Sense Media can be a useful resource to assess age-appropriateness. This is their page for the first Hunger Games novel, which they deem suitable for 13+.

My daughter read them at 10.

The movies are rated 12. Definitely suitable for tweens

@Iamuhtredsonofuhtred

The movies are rated 12. Definitely suitable for tweens

This is true but just be aware that the 12/12A in the UK was achieved after making some cuts to particularly bloody violence, especially the ‘cornucopia’ scene at the very beginning of the game sequence. As a result there is an ‘international’ extended version floating around which is only a few minutes longer but contains a lot more violence. Just double-check which one you are watching if your children are younger or sensitive to such material.

www.bbfc.co.uk/case-studies/hunger-games

@Dishwashersaurous

It will take you an hour to read. It’s a book for children.

You could have read it in the time that you took to post on here , read and respond

It won’t take an hour OP. Depending on how fast a reader you are it could take a while... which is obviously why you asked the question of whether it is suitable.

Yes it is. Your dd might love it. Or she might not but it’s absolutely suitable (and aimed at) her age group.