OT-Twilight Books for an 11 yr old?

I teach at a middle school, and the Twilight books are all the rage around here.  I've read, and loved, all four books.  I've allowed my two daughters to read them.  They were a little older; I think my youngest was 12 when she read the first one.  I don't agree with the "soft porn" idea at all!  I actually liked that they did NOT have sex until after they were married.  Even then it was glossed over and not at all graphic.  If she's a mature 11, I don't see that it would be an issue.  Ultimately, I would say that you should read Twilight to see if you are comfortable with her reading it.  It's a quick read, and you'd have a better idea whether she was ready.  

If you let her, it would be a really good opportunity to have a talk with her about that kind of stuff, if you haven't already.  Are you sure its not YOU that brought the book home?  lol  I hear the moms are just as in love with the books and movie as the tweens!

I was a quick read, too.

Well Lisa:

Looks like you got tons of feedback on your question. I figured I would throw mine in the hat as well.

I have 11 and 13 year old girls. We went through much debate and discussion as to whether or not they could read the Twilight Series. Ultimately they won. I let them both read them. Funny thing is the 11 year old read all four books and that was the last I heard of it...She wasn't affected one way or the other. Matter of fact didn't hear much from her on them at all. On the other hand the 13 year old became obsessed with the whole Twilight theme, shirts, stickers, Edward, Bella, the Movie, Twilight Birthday....Oh my go****hought she was going to turn into a vampire. But it's been a year now and that too has passed. I took them both to the Movie as well and I know that the movie was much more mild than the books, because as the books progress so does it progress sexually... The first movie not bad at all.

I say, yes....It promotes thinking, their ability to read and understand. Getting kids to read these days is not all that easy.

Good Luck

JRolfson

I haven't seen the movie, and I only read the first two books, but I thought they were ok for teens...11 is young, but as Be Switched I also was a big Stepen King fan (still am) and I'm ok.  My niece, who is 9 has read them, and I thought that was a little too young. 

But overall I think they are ok.  I have four kids and one daughter who is 16 tends towards the "goth" look and likes things like "Nightmare Before Christmas" etc. (which I also like!)  and I try to temper the "evil" stuff with concentrating on the heros in the stories.  We also have a strong faith in our family and I think she has a good grasp on what is good and wholesome, so I'd let her read it.  (she doesn't like to read though!  I don't know how I had a kid who doesn't read....) 

You could also go to a site called "goodreads" to see many reviews of the books.


hope this helps!

Linda

i have 4 teenage girls (19,18,17 & 16) who have all read the whole series. i asked them "would you  want your cousins to read this series ( they are 10 and 12) and i got a ressounding YES. my 19 year old went on to say that if they wanted to see the movie, she would definitely want to accompany them in case questions arose.

 My 10, almost 11 year old son read them all really quickly and absolutely loved them!!  Now I've got someone else in the family to share my addiction with! 

I think this depends on the maturity of the child. My daughter is 11 and I allowed her to read all of the twilight books. She actually read Twilight when she was 10. I believed, and was right, that she was mature enough to handle what happens in the book. She has actually read all 4 books 4 times! She has seen the movie at the theaters 5 times. Let's just say she is a little obsessed. Posters, hoodie sweatshirts, books, magazines, youtubing all the actors, computer wallpaper. I am not a traditional parent though because I don't try to protect her from all the evils of the world. She knows there are "bad guys" that do horrible things to women and children and to people in general. I used these books as a great way to talk about things that she otherwise wouldn't have talked about. Like what would you do if you were approached by a strange man at night? What would you do if you fell in love with someone different? It led to some discussion and I think over all the books have brought us closer. I have read them also and love them. It's really been a great bonding experience for us. I will warn you the books do tend to get more mature as they go. I say read it for yourself and then decide.

Don't forget about good ol Harry Potter, Goosebumps and the Series of Unfortunate Events.  That's what I got my son into around that age.  Today he's 15 and reading Ann Coulter learning how to be a good republican yet still be able to talk to a liberal if he has to.

Ok-I think I'm going to have to read it & decide for myself. Never in a million years thought I would be reading a book about vampires-ugh! If I like it, I'm REALLY going to be upset