Harry Potter books

[VegBox]

DD8 (May birthday) has become a massive Harry Potter fan in the last few weeks and has powered through the first four books. DH thinks I should stop her reading the last few books until she's older. I'm less fussed, since she has read and enjoyed far more gruesome mythology (my old Roger Lancelyn Green book of Greek myths, for instance, which includes Medea chopping up her brother etc). The teenage snogging in HP is, I think, so tame as to be neither here nor there. But am I a negligent parent for letting her read it? I wouldn't let her watch the later films as they are quite dark in tone, but I feel differently about the books.

In case it's relevant, she's a very good reader so I have no reason to think the plots are too complicated for her to grasp.

I think the HP books are totally fine to read at 8. Encourage her if she is enjoying herself I’d say!

Books are fine.
Some parts will go over her head, but she will still get the basic story. Or not and she will get bored. No harm either way.

DS had a high reading age and a lower emotional age judged against his chronological age, so I would recommend reading the books and thinking about what your DC would find frightening. My DC were freaked out by hints and atmosphere rather than explicit violence.

Have you read the books yourself, op?

There's a pretty massive difference between the first and last.
And although the HP books reference (for example) the Greek myths, they're VERY different

Greek myths may be gruesome but I don’t think they’re written such that kids are at all attached to the characters and care if they die. Whereas in Harry Potter they’ve got to ‘know’ various of the characters. In a sense if they're not at all upset by some of what happens then they’re not emotionally mature enough for them yet, if that makes sense