We found that it's not appropriate for OUR oldest (12). We're going to have him wait another year or so before we do it. For us, it's the idea of children killing children - some his age, and he has a tender heart. We just feel it's not right for him now.
I'd read them first so that you can decide. There is violence, but other than one short sentence in the beginning of the actual games, I don't find it violence that is gorey or detailed or an issue until the very end. The 'idea' is violent - a 'game' put on by a far away government as punishment for past crimes where children must battle other children in a Roman-esque survival tournament to the death. But she pulls it off pretty well with not giving in to the graphic/grossness that other writers might have.
If you'd like to try another book series of hers that's totally appropriate (more on children in war, but more for the younger end of this age set, try her Gregor the Overlander (the Underland Chronicles). It's about a boy in NY who is pulled into an underground world where animals and creatures and 'humans' live together. My 12 yo loved these books.
Last edited by Darcy Baldwin; 03-22-2012 at 05:04 AM.
|