What age is appropriate to read 'Angus, thongs and full-frontal snogging'

[cherryred]

My 10y old daughter is really keen to start reading the Louise Rennison books and I'm not sure whether to let her. They do definitely seem very teenage but does it really matter if she reads them young? Am I just trying to hold onto her childhood? She says they look really funny and just because she wants to read about teenage stuff it doesn't meen she wants to do teenage stuff. What does anyone else think?

My 11 year old DD loves them. I think they are harmless enough and very funny, but DD's school doesn't allow under-13's to take them out of the school library.

I made my dds wait until they were 12. In fact dd2 is just reading them now.

The first couple are totally harmless and very funny but I think some of the later ones, whilst not terrible, are perhaps rather too 'old' for a ten year old - and nowhere near as funny because she just keeps re-hashing the same old lines.

They're not as bad as the title would lead you to believe. Angus is a cat. DD(11) went though the entire series very quickly and getting bored towards the end.

i cringe everytime i see that book

Why, Yappy?

Remember reading 'Are you there God, it's me, Margaret' aged about 11 and loving it - perhaps a bit more innocent though! (not read any of the Louise Rennison books - but DD is 9 so may only be a matter of time...)

'Margaret' has younger content - iirc it's about wanting a bra and thinking about periods. These ones are about 'he touched my nork' and whether to kiss with tongue in or out etc, or certainly the later ones are.

He touched my NORK ...OMG yes I totally see the reservations!

Not called norks in the books - but you get the picture!

I cringe because my dd (6 and a good reader) picks it up everytime we are in Tesco and starts asking about thongs and snogging whilst I'm trying to shop

the looks I get

Thanks everyone, I think I might borrow the first one from the library and read it myself before I make up my mind. And if the first couple are harmless Janeite I could just let her read them and hope she loses interest! If I make too big a deal of it it will only make them seem more desirable anyway.

Sounds like a plan! I think you will enjoy the first one hugely!

I saw the film and loved it.

How important is the cat in the book?

I haven't seen the film. The cat is important in that it is bonkers and helps give her the opportunity to get into even more scrapes.