Charlie Higson books help!

[yotty]

Heard Charlie Higson talking on the radio about his series of books which starts with The Enemy. Thought it sounded right up my DS's street. DS is 11, just started year 7. Went to library and found books, but they say they are unsuitable for under 14 year olds. Would you let your 11 year old read them? Is there something really grim in them, or is it mainly bad language? During the holidays he read most of the Cherub series by Robert Muchamore. Are the Higson books more unsuitable, in terms of content?

My 11 year old loves them - he's also read all the cherub books. I think they're very similar in terms of content. He should enjoy!

No, if he's read Cherub he'll be fine. Higson himself does say he wrote the series specifically to scare the pants off his own kids (I think the younger one was ten-ish when he started this series) and they gave him ideas to make them even scarier.

Some dcs of 11 wouldn't enjoy them (mine prefers surreal fantasy to horror) but many will be fine. Try and ignore these 'age range' warnings in libraries/bookshops (publishers have started labelling some books with age ranges as they're supposed to be helpful to grand/godparents choosing books rather than advising against certain aged children reading them, iyswim).

My 11 year old has just started reading The Enemy, on the recommendation of some of his classmates. He got it out of the school library, so I guess they think it's ok too!

Our school are a bit sniffy about these type of books inc Cherub etc not really seeing them as "literature". But my DS enjoys them and reads them quickly so we tend to alternate between "booklist (boring) books" and these fun, action packed books. I'm just happy he's reading.....

Milkshake, I'm with you on 'I'm just happy he's reading'. Since we made the mistake of giving DS an iPod touch, the time he spends reading has reduced considerably. He has spent hours playing FIFA 2012 and then he discovered the Cherub books during the holidays. He read 9 books in 3 weeks, so they must be an easy read. But it is better than playing iPod games!