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Hiddensee: A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker,
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Lisa
I think it would be OK for a 13-year-old, but not one expecting "The Nutcracker" story.
Donna
It has nothing to do with the Nutcracker ballet. Not appropriate for YA, as has been mentioned.
Mom
Please do not recommend this book to a 13-yo ballerina. It is replete with troubling issues of sex--disgraced pregnant girls, unwanted babies, graphic descriptions of a young man's erection, and incest as well as regular hetero- and homo- sexuality.
Emma Fredgant
There are a couple uses of the f-word and a slightly sexually-explicit scene.
George
This book is no more a companion to the delights of The Nutcracker than the Wicked series is for the Oz books. When you've begun to see that L. Frank Baum is marvelous but not perfect, and that his Oz has inconsistencies, you're ready for Maguire. But not, I think, before.
Courteney
I agree with most commenters, not appropriate for YA. While reading with an adult can circumvent many of the troubling issues contained within a book, that really depends on the mental and emotional maturity of the YA reader and their relationship with their adult reading companion.
Jennifer
I doubt it would even hold her interest. It also has does not touch on the familiar Nutcracker story, except for a few brief pages.
Andrea
I would have no problem with a 13-year-old reading it. I was reading far more "mature" themes when I was 13. But be aware the nutcracker doesn't enter the story till very late, and the story pacing might be a tad slow for a younger person.
Mark
Not a child's book, definitely a niche reading for adults
Hanna
Definitely too mature for her to read. There are themes of abandonment, suicide, religion, mental health, sex, and one's sexuality in it. While there are good points like family, perseverance, honesty, faithfulness, etc, there are just some things that are too much for a thirteen year old to be able to grasp fully without maturity and experience to guide those thoughts.
Trissina
not for a child
Kristin
Furthermore, the main elements of the Nutcracker only appear in the last 50 pages.
Kara
I really don't think she would like it. I enjoyed the book but would not have as a 13-year old. And there are some sections that are probably not appropriate for her.
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