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Original poster

1984 but for teens

101 replies

Singleandproud · 18/08/2023 20:33

13 year old DD is keen to read 1984 but I don't think it's appropriate largely because of the sexual content.

She has ASD and will only read books that make her think, she enjoys satire and likes to read Private Eye and watch Mock the week and Have I got News for You etc. She really enjoyed Animal Farm and didn't mind Lord of the Flies but found it male centric which ofcourse it is but didn't like Hunger Games and the Divergent series because they focused on the romantic relationships of the characters.

Does anyone know of any books that are like 1984 but are appropriate for younger teens? Or any other recommendations for books she might like.

OP posts:
kublacant · 19/08/2023 17:18

I think 13 young to read in 1984, only because some of the ideas in it are so adult and complex not because of the sex scene.

I also enjoyed The Chrysalids when I was a bit older and does anyone remember The Tripods? I loved those books although very male-centred.

I also remember Grinny and You Remember Me by Nicholas Fisk as being weirdly creepy at that age.

MotherOfCrocodiles · 19/08/2023 17:34

The Guardians - John Christopher
The Crysalids- John Wyndham
Others by the same authors

MotherOfCrocodiles · 19/08/2023 17:37

I would add that I think the aspects of some adult books, like 1984 and Brave New World, that make them disturbing for adults will go over most kids heads (as some one above said, many kids "don't mind the torture" (!))

For this reason I think it is worth seeking out young adult fiction as it will actually have more of an impact and make her think

Yfory · 19/08/2023 17:38

We read Animal farm and 1984 at school when I was 14. I was a bit shocked but survived!

yikesanotherbooboo · 19/08/2023 17:39

I don't think you should be censoring reading at 13. Don't forget that it is not many years since DC graduated from Enid Blyton to Agatha Christie and Dickins.Precocious readers would have easily done this by 10 or 11. It meant that those golden reading years when one has loads of time and can plough through hundreds of books before the world of work came along was longer.

edwinatheelephant · 19/08/2023 18:16

Similar recommendations for teens/pre-teens:

Feed by MT Anderson
Naughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman
The Giver by Lois Lowry

And this great list: www.slj.com/story/slj-ncte-seven-titles-that-are-just-as-scary-as-1984-george-orwell

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 19/08/2023 18:26

At 13, I'd let them read 1984.
I devoured Orwell at that age.

Original poster
Singleandproud · 19/08/2023 18:34

Thank you for everybody's comments.

I think if she'd borrowed it from the library I probably wouldn't have thought twice about it but because she wanted to borrow it from my book shelf it perhaps felt different. The last time I read it I was actually pregnant with her, I remember reading it out loud to get her used to my voice and when I was bf her as a newborn - an odd choice perhaps. Thinking back I was certainly reading Judy Blume etc at her age and my mum didn't pay a great deal of attention to what I read.

Skills wise she is a fantastic reader, extremely gifted at verbal comprehension, reading age of 16 at 7 etc. Unfortunately despite that she has never enjoyed reading for pleasure, I think its because of her ASD that she is more visual and the words don't really build a picture in her head. So whenever she's shown interests in books Harry Potter, Sherlock etc I've let her read it but sometimes whilst she enjoyed the story the social aspects went over her head as she just wasn't at that stage of life.

Hitchikers guide I bought when she was 10 she read the first two and dropped it. Road Dahls short stories and ghost stories sit on the shelf unread. She liked the first Skullduggery book so I bought the box set, it took her all year to read the second one at school so 15+ sit unread, I think once it becomes school work she struggles because then it's not pleasure. We have the full collection of Charles Dickins on my bookshelf, she part read Christmas Carol one year. The last book she genuinely enjoyed was Good Omens and she loves the show.
But I suppose that's all the more reason to let her read it, although making it 'forbidden fruit' may have made her want to read it more.

She isn't particularly sensitive, went to a sleepover where they watched Scream (I wasn't happy when I found out - so perhaps I'm a bit uptight) but she loved it and wanted to watch the others.

OP posts:
Random789 · 19/08/2023 18:51

Agree with others that 1984 is fine for a 13yo.
I'd worry about the misogyny more than the sex, but that's just in the nature of life and literature. She can't really avoid that.
Animal Farm always struck me as 1984 for children, so she could read that if she hasn't already.
Brave New World is probably a harder read than 1984 (and also misogynistic), but she might enjoy it.
Never Let Me Go is dystopian and thought provoking, and has the advantage of being in a young female voice, touchingly naive. So I'd recommend that.

DoughnutDreams · 19/08/2023 18:55

Has she tried audiobooks? I was very similar but love listening to audiobooks now. She can listen when travelling, doing other tasks, as well as in bed.

As well as audible, there are a lot of audiobooks available freely on podcasts and YouTube. (Including 1984!)

Another thought might be for her to use something like spark notes online (or again a YouTube study guide for the specific book - there are loads!)
This might help her engage with the content more and think about the themes and relationships. (A good skill to develop for exam courses too.)

Aparecium · 19/08/2023 20:54

If she enjoyed Good Omens, try her on more Pratchetts. Weird Systers is an excellent one to start with. They all comment on social assumptions and stereotypes, but the earlier Discworld novels are more swords-and-sorcery than thought-provoking.

sashh · 20/08/2023 02:44

Just a thought OP has she read the diary of Anne Frank? There's quite a lot in that to think about.

Prior to lockdown I don't think I appretiated just how stifling it is to be in one place all the time, and I didn't have other people witih me.

StoatofDisarray · 20/08/2023 05:05

I read it at her age. The sex scene is pretty wholesome and brief. I don't see the problem. The book itself is depressing, grim and shocking, as it's supposed to be. I find it weird that you're upset about one of the very few "nice" bits in it.

Festivfrenzy · 20/08/2023 05:52

Z for Zachariah was great at her age
Maybe Oryx and Crake too.

meatbaseddessert · 20/08/2023 06:04

Bonniethewestie · 19/08/2023 16:56

1984 was the most horrible book I ever read. The torture scene always sticks in my mind and was really harrowing. I don’t remember the sex scene.

I really don’t think a 13 year old should read it. The concept is clever for its time but it’s a really long read and I don’t think it’s written well/gripping it’s all just gloom gloom gloom nothing good happens.

What about Handmaids Tale (also a bit gruesome but nowhere near as horrible for me) or Noughts and Crosses? Or maybe seeing if she likes the crime drama genre like Before I go to sleep? (Book is way more clever than the film very gripping)

Rubbish. I read 1984 at that age and loved it. I read every Orwell after that, his biography and became interested in political philosophy.

It was the making of me I think. I still love it. Such an impactful book and never gets old.

110APiccadilly · 20/08/2023 06:11

John Wyndham might be an author she'd enjoy. Some of them are male centric in that the main character is male - she could start with Trouble with Lichen, which isn't, though I don't think it's one of his best. The Chrysalids is a good one and though the narrator is male it's about a group of people, male and female.

TeenDivided · 20/08/2023 06:31

John Wyndham (of Day of the Trifids) wrote a number that 'make you think'.

My favourite of these is Chocky, but there is also The Midwich Cuckoos, The Trouble with Lichen and more. And no sex. Smile

TeenDivided · 20/08/2023 06:33

110APiccadilly · 20/08/2023 06:11

John Wyndham might be an author she'd enjoy. Some of them are male centric in that the main character is male - she could start with Trouble with Lichen, which isn't, though I don't think it's one of his best. The Chrysalids is a good one and though the narrator is male it's about a group of people, male and female.

So sorry @110APiccadilly I didn't see your post. And yes I'd forgotten The Chrysalids - it's very good.

Bonniethewestie · 20/08/2023 22:42

meatbaseddessert · 20/08/2023 06:04

Rubbish. I read 1984 at that age and loved it. I read every Orwell after that, his biography and became interested in political philosophy.

It was the making of me I think. I still love it. Such an impactful book and never gets old.

Show quote history

Each to their own! I’m allowed an opinion and just because we don’t agree doesn’t mean it’s ‘rubbish’…

I found the book rubbish and I read constantly! You are obviously into that stuff. Not for me

Matildahoney · 20/08/2023 23:01

Our class were given it to read in year 6 after we'd read Animal Farm.

TeenDivided · 21/08/2023 06:29

Agree Noughr and Crosses is a good series

Grimbelina · 22/08/2023 13:12

Such a good thread, have pulled a great list together from all the suggestions, thank you everyone!

TotalOverhaul · 22/08/2023 13:25

What about John Wyndham? The Chrysalids and the Midwich Cuckoos are both good.

Maybe the H.I.V.E series?
Has she read Malorie Blackman?

Daftasabroom · 22/08/2023 13:41

I read it at that age at school

Gobbledegeek · 23/08/2023 22:37

Well written books/authors to try that are on that adult fiction cusp but not in your genre:

Marcus Sedgwick

David Almond

Kiran Millwood-Hargrave (make sure you get her books for older children though - The Girl of Ink and Stars is one and she has another coming out soon. Be sure to avoid the adult books she writes as there is some explicit and upsetting sexual content in The Mercies for example).

S.F. Said

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon is written from the perspective of a boy with autism. Some schools teach it at Key Stage 3.

Perhaps try Terry Pratchett for the quirky humour?

The only one I can think of that fits the dystopian bill (but it isn't very satirical - more morally thoughtful) is Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro - it's dystopian, about AI, plenty of young people in it and, as far as I can recall, very little sexual references.