Is there any guide to which high-quality contemporary books are suitable for specific age groups?

Drew_TNBD

When I was 11, I read this book called Wolfcurse by Guy N. Smith. About half way through there was some savagery, and my young mind couldn't quite grasp it. So I gave the book to my mum and told her what I'd just read. She put it back on the shelf and didn't really say a word.

Few days later I decided I was being an idiot, and picked it back up and finished it.

And thus began the corruption of a young mind! Thanks Guy N. Smith!

HAL9000

Not contemporary but how about some of the  classics. Might be old, but have stood the test of time...

Oliver Twist - Dickens
A Christmas Carol - Dickens
The Old Man and the Sea - Hemmingway

Flink_Poyd said:

You could have a look through Neil Gaimans back catalogue. 

Good shout. My daughter really enjoyed 'The Graveyard book' (the book, not the graphic novels).

rlw

I read all the books my parents bought or borrowed from the library up until I was about 16.  The only one I didn't finish was Ulysses as I just couldn't relate to the ideas in it.  My point being that reading is supposed to broaden the mind, not restrict it what someone else considers "appropriate".

Funkfingers

In my opinion, it is incorrect to assume that all children of a given age range are going to be entertained, offended or frightened by the same written materials.

Axe_meister

At that age I loved the Adrian Mole Diary books. Apparently they have moved on into adult hood now.
I wish I could get my son to read but actually fears reading a book (something to do with his ASD)

darthed1981

Flink_Poyd said:

You could have a look through Neil Gaimans back catalogue. 

Seconded  - "The Ocean At The End of the Lane" is one of the best things I've read in years!

monquixote

I don't know what it's like for books for teenagers, but this site is really good for working out if a film is going to be too scary for my kids: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/

menamestom

ToneControl said:

Lord of the rings is out for now.

Understood, but the Hobbit it far more accessible and could be on the list.  I wish I'd have read it at 13.  I wouldn't discount the smaller HG Welles novels either, although perhaps that's a few years hence.  Not that contemporary though!

I'm going through a similar thing with my 8 year old lad at the moment, he reads every night and devours books.  He's still on things like Captain Underpants, but I think just encouraging reading what they like for the age group is good.   Trouble is he's just read a 10 book pack in less than a week, they are not the densest of books, but, still, his literary demands are becoming difficult to keep up with...

ToneControl

monquixote said:

I don't know what it's like for books for teenagers, but this site is really good for working out if a film is going to be too scary for my kids: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/

looks promising, thanks

ToneControl

menamestom said:

ToneControl said:

Lord of the rings is out for now.

Understood, but the Hobbit it far more accessible and could be on the list.  I wish I'd have read it at 13.  I wouldn't discount the smaller HG Welles novels either, although perhaps that's a few years hence.  Not that contemporary though!

I'm going through a similar thing with my 8 year old lad at the moment, he reads every night and devours books.  He's still on things like Captain Underpants, but I think just encouraging reading what they like for the age group is good.   Trouble is he's just read a 10 book pack in less than a week, they are not the densest of books, but, still, his literary demands are becoming difficult to keep up with...

yes, Hobbit should be good

My younger sister was like that with books, read one per day

frank1985

Finnegans Wake by James Joyce is a real page turner. 

jonnyburgo

My 12yo boy has just finished Trainspotting ( i had to give him a little help with translation)and has just started Battle Royale, pretty heavy stuff i guess but he goes through books like wildfire. He's read.more books than i have. His English teacher either thinks we are a bit progessive or woefully irresponsible.

fields5069

I'm conflicted on this. I read Peter Benchley's "The Island" when I was 14 or so, and it's pretty adult and shocking in places. I have turned into a reasonably normal human being I think, with no unhealthy urges to piss on someone's jellyfish stings as yet.

fields5069

jonnyburgo said:

My 12yo boy has just finished Trainspotting ( i had to give him a little help with translation)and has just started Battle Royale, pretty heavy stuff i guess but he goes through books like wildfire. He's read.more books than i have. His English teacher either thinks we are a bit progessive or woefully irresponsible.

I would love it if my 12yo daughter read half as much. She has hundreds of books to choose from at home, she can even choose between Spanish and English, they're of varying thicknesses so she has no excuse that they all seem too long. She's just gone down to set 2 for English and we're blaming her fecking phone. She may not be intellectually brilliant but she's doing herself no favours. I think my wife is trying to make some sort of agreement with her at the moment to get her back on the straight and narrow.

ToneControl

just to make sure everyone understands my motives: I'm not aiming to censor, my daughters know a lot - they use the internet constantly.

as an example, I advised them that some films are disturbing in a way that not everyone enjoys, and gave the example of the SAW films. The younger one had a look at it, and told us a month later that she agreed.

So my target is "interesting, well-written books, but not long and boring, or too clever and inaccessible, with no real plot, or dwelling constantly on rape, torture, etc".

I'm looking for books that they are ready for, e.g. I think Game of Thrones is OK for my 15 year old, but probably not for the 13 year old, but the 13 year would probably like it at 14.  Personally I found the human caterpillar very unpleasant, I would not be recommending that to a 13 year old. 

As another example, I can remember really enjoying Jamrach's Menagerie, which includes plenty of weird and grown up stuff, but I'm not sure if she'd get bored in the long section in the middle where they are stuck at sea

fields5069

How about some Asimov? That's who I was into in my youth, and I still think the books stack up well with any contemporary fiction, particularly for "young adults". The Foundation series springs to mind, along with the other ones about the 2 robots which then cleverly turn into the prequels for the Foundation series.

ToneControl

fields5069 said:

jonnyburgo said:

My 12yo boy has just finished Trainspotting ( i had to give him a little help with translation)and has just started Battle Royale, pretty heavy stuff i guess but he goes through books like wildfire. He's read.more books than i have. His English teacher either thinks we are a bit progessive or woefully irresponsible.

I would love it if my 12yo daughter read half as much. She has hundreds of books to choose from at home, she can even choose between Spanish and English, they're of varying thicknesses so she has no excuse that they all seem too long. She's just gone down to set 2 for English and we're blaming her fecking phone. She may not be intellectually brilliant but she's doing herself no favours. I think my wife is trying to make some sort of agreement with her at the moment to get her back on the straight and narrow.

this is my problem, my oldest (15) was top in English, but never reads now, just youtube, youtube, youtube

The 13 year old asked for a book from AMazon, and asked which of my Mann booker shortlist books was suitable, so I want to give her a steer to interesting books that are not too much of a jump from the ones from school - e.g. not 1Q84

ToneControl

fields5069 said:

How about some Asimov? That's who I was into in my youth, and I still think the books stack up well with any contemporary fiction, particularly for "young adults". The Foundation series springs to mind, along with the other ones about the 2 robots which then cleverly turn into the prequels for the Foundation series.

good point, she's not shown any inclination to Scifi so far
I have given her Hitch-hikers partly as a test for that

EricTheWeary

The only book I remember my kids loving at that age was the Curious Incident of the dog in the Nighttime, I know I enjoyed it. My eldest has certainly reread it since and gone to see the stage play. 
Yeh, the Hitch hikers books, I think MrsTheWeary wanted them to love Stephen King books but both tried and didn't. But neither been great readers, although I'm probably a poor example as I rarely read a book if not on holiday. 

ToneControl

btw, here's this year's Mann booker shortlist for £40:
https://www.thebookpeople.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/qs_product_tbp?productId=867345&storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&langId=100
if you add coupons, you can get them all delivered in hardback for £34