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The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy: The Shocking Inside Story,
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Margaret Joyce
You've got to be kidding.
Serewyn
No. It is never appropriate for a 12 year old to read about an insane, cruel, serial killer. Harry Potter and similar however, are appropriate.
Marcus Clark
It is not suitable for anyone under 18. There are some horrible things in this book, most of the murders are not detailed, but the parts that are could disturb anyone, particularly a teenager, for life.
Andrea
I was reading books like this at the age of 12. It didn't scar me, and in fact, I think I learned to be more cautious and aware of seemingly well-meaning strangers.
Wendy
That's about the age I read it, and it put me off true crime for life. Also ensured that I NEVER picked up a hitchhiker, no matter how cute and clean looking.
Walter Stoffel
I was in my 40s when I read this book. I read it while on vacation.My wife and I were staying at an isolated vacation cabin in upstate New York. During the night the sump pump would sporadically start up. Each time it did , I was jolted out of my sleep. Reading Rule's book had so impacted me.
A 12 year old? I don't think so.
A 12 year old? I don't think so.
Steven
It doesn't make sense to lump in books about brutal rapists, torturers and killers with "scary stories" for younger children.
Ask yourself if you would feel comfortable with your 12-year-old watching a graphic movie about Ted Bundy - a movie that depicted the rapes, tortures and killings, including the repeated rapes of the dead corpses. If it's not appropriate for young kids to watch movies like that, why would it be appropriate for them to read books like that?
In an interview, J.K. Rowling said that Voldemort was "a raging psychopath, devoid of the normal human responses to other people's suffering," modeled after real-life monsters like Hitler and Stalin. And yet, if Voldemort did what Ted Bundy did, do you think Harry Potter would be popular with children, and would parents encourage their kids to read it? Of course, some parents think Harry Potter is too dark and scary for 12-year-olds.
Ask yourself if you would feel comfortable with your 12-year-old watching a graphic movie about Ted Bundy - a movie that depicted the rapes, tortures and killings, including the repeated rapes of the dead corpses. If it's not appropriate for young kids to watch movies like that, why would it be appropriate for them to read books like that?
In an interview, J.K. Rowling said that Voldemort was "a raging psychopath, devoid of the normal human responses to other people's suffering," modeled after real-life monsters like Hitler and Stalin. And yet, if Voldemort did what Ted Bundy did, do you think Harry Potter would be popular with children, and would parents encourage their kids to read it? Of course, some parents think Harry Potter is too dark and scary for 12-year-olds.
Deborah Underwood
I would have been able to read it at 12...but it depends on the 12 year old. I was reading a lot of college level books at that age. 18 years old is much too long to wait to read this book...there is nothing in- appropriate in the book, though there are details about the killings. I remember reading "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote when I was 15...now that one is chilling, but none of these true crime books hurt me over the long term. I was always interested in the psychological profile of people who were capable of horrific acts, which is probably why I studied Psychology in college. I enjoy looking beneath the surface of events.
Tyler
I know this question was 4 years ago now. I'm curious if you let your 12 year old read the book and what her response was. Also, why wouldn't you read the book FIRST and then decide if it was appropriate for your child?
Amanda
Please, PLEASE tell me this is sarcasm.
Miranda
My 6 year old listens to true crime podcasts with me, and we discuss things like this, so she understands that the monsters in the world aren't in movies, they are real. I have a beautiful little girl, and I am preparing her for the world, and scary stuff like this is in the world. The content can be gruesome at times, not as much as some things I've read. Ann presents this in a very matter of fact way. I would read this together with your child, and be prepared to discuss it.
Camilla Frank
I read this at 14. Kids are different.
Emma
I think it is probably fine. I am 18 and was similar to your daughter in the threshold department when I was 12. It wouldn't have scared me very much. It isn't very detailed in the murders and the whole story is told in kind of a removed way. I might even be kind of instructional, I learned not to do a lot of things that I had never really thought of before, and could keep me safe one day.
Britcrit
Bear in mind it is not fiction. It is true. That might be more scary to some people. It doesn't go into gruesome details but might play on your mind that it's a true story. Might also act as an educator as to how not to fall prey.
storytime
You realize this is a book about a serial killer? How can you even ask this? Even with a high threshold for scary stories, do you really want a 12 year old to be able to "deal with" these gruesome murders? To brag about it later? For a high threshold in true crime to be a good thing for children? All I can think of is repeating @Margaret1358 Joyce's words:
You've got to be kidding.
You've got to be kidding.
Trilby O'Farrell
Maybe? First of all, it's not a "scary story", it's real life. Would I have read this at 12? Yes. Should I have? Maybe not. But then again, his youngest victim was 12, and many of the others were teens. It's probably something to be aware of. As for people saying you have to be 18, well that's just silly. But, if you're 12, I should probably also mention that it's mostly a middle-aged woman narrating her experiences and those of cops who work the case as well as adult women in relationships with Ted, and it is not narrated like a "scary story."
Hélène Touzé
No, this book is not appropriate for a 12 year old unless you want your daughter to grow up traumatized and paranoid. No matter what kind of threshold your kid has, remember that this is non-fiction, and as such, carries a different weight; as in : this really happened. These young women died in extremely violent ways. You can't close the book to make the horror stop, and to me, that is quite different from a fictional book.
Helena
Yes this is appropriate for a twelve year old if they have a high threshold for scary and creepy stories.
Paul Stewart
Depends on the kid...you make the decision...personally, I would, because I think it would help the young girl to understand that not all people are safe. Within a few years she's be dating, and being hit on by guys, so it would be good for her to understand creepy behavior....just MHO
TAMARA WIDLAKE
I was aware of a number of victims at the time they happened. This is a True Story. In no way is this or any true story regarding murder "fun" and yes no one but a mixture adult should read any books regarding kidnapping, rape or murder
Ashley
I would say no. This is not fiction this is a real life case with real case details.
Jens
There aren's all that many details of the damage done to Bundy's victims, but though I've read a lot of true-crime this book made me get up and lock my back door. The idea of lethal stalkers out there's pretty scary.
Almira
Not unless you read it with your child, literally. So, that you could explain what it must have been like for the victims' families to undergo the horrible crimes committed by this evil person. But could you?
Stefani
I'm 15 and am having it ordered in at my local library so... idk normally they have age restrictions on them
as
I read it about six months ago, at age 11 after I got too interested in and English essay, and I'm still traumatized by some of the descriptions in this book. Please, no, no, and no.
Elspeth Burke
No, it is for the mature reader and even then some will find it disturbing.
Cj Donovan
No, not for a 12 yr old. Yes, inappropriate.
T.ScottReviews
I would say everything is inappropriate for anyone under 18 given this is non-fiction about someone who committed atrocious acts against women and I would wonder why you even had to ask.
Barbara
No, it's not appropriate. The horror around this serial killer is too much for a 12 year old girl.
Kim
Shoot, I'm almost 30, haven't read past the prologue yet, and the accounts of people interacting with Bundy as targeted victims has me not wanting to leave my house. Depends on the person and their ability to handle the idea that the nice neighbor might be murdering people in his basement.
Lili
If they really feel as if they can handle it it should be ok. I developed an interest in true crime around 12, never hurt me.
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