Steve Rahe answers “Is this book appropriate for my 13 yr old...”

Gina Mobley asked this question about Doctor Sleep (The Shining, #2):

Is this book appropriate for my 13 yr old daughter? Mainly worried about sexual content.

Steve Rahe To be honest, that would depend upon what she already reads--there's nothing in _Doctor Sleep_ that would shock teens who are familiar with some pop-c…moreTo be honest, that would depend upon what she already reads--there's nothing in _Doctor Sleep_ that would shock teens who are familiar with some pop-culture references in the text, such as "Game of Thrones".

The details:
The most potentially disturbing sexual content involves a male character who tells a story of being molested by a family member. This story is told by the victim in a kind of flashback--and is fairly graphic with a few sadistic details that clearly make you empathize with the victim.

There is also another scene similar to this, except the victim is female. It is handled less graphically than the scene mentioned above.

There is no real sexual content regarding Abra (the teen protagonist). The danger to her involves non-sexual torture, which is described as a necessary task for the bad guys .

There is scene set after a one-night stand involving the main adult character, Dan Torrance. This "morning after" happens before Dan joins AA. In addition, a few of the bad guys are bisexual/lesbian--though the handful (~3-4?) of sexual encounters in the text aren't described in much detail.

Overall, there's some sexual content, but you're talking a few paragraphs out of hundreds of pages. If you have a 13-year-old who actually reads books nowadays, I wouldn't worry.

I hope that answered your question without revealing too much. I thought it was the perfect coda to the _The Shining_, and a very entertaining read.(less)

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