The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo question

I would say no if my daughter was 15-17 years of age and wanted to read this. I just don't think it's good to expose a girl that age to the type of sadistic sexual violence that goes on in this book. Don't get me wrong I love this book (The Girl with the dragon tattoo) and can't wait to read the others in the series but they are very much adult in content.

I'm a teen. a junior in highschool and have just finished reading the first two books and lately started the third. I found them very entertaining and although I come from a strict environment (not my parents just the whole society) I didn't encounter something I didn't know of before. Yes the sexual description was appalling and sometimes cringe worthy, but that's it. I wasn't committed into an asylum because It damaged me or something I didn't go to jail for raping anybody if those are the things you're afraid a teenager might do after reading such novel. Yes, I may have been disturbed once or twice, but the disturbance went away once I turned the page. It's a book, you read it and get on with your life. And if It wasn't something new to me and I live in a strict environment where you don't really have boyfriends or experience any pre-marital interactions with the other sex, then the chances are kids in more open societies (US, for example) know it too, so nothing much to be afraid of.

I know I would have read these books when I was my daughter's age. I try to think how I would have reacted. The sexual violence would have stunned me but I think the Elsbeth "triumphs" and how strong a person she is would have made a bigger impression on me than the violence.

I guess I would let me daughter read this book (but no to the movie) and talk to her about it to address any concerns or problems she had with the story.

I would love for my 17 year old daughter to read these books. They show a marginalized young woman rising from her horrid beginnings. I dragged my husband to the movie and he LOVED it, even though he expected it to be a "chick flick".

Trust me, if they're in public school, they have heard of worse and know about rape and murder. Would I let a 15yr old read it? If they are reasonably mature for their age, 17yr old, yes. Thinking that your child isn't already reading subject matter that is questionable to your own morals is, no offense, naive. Sure, tell your preteen/teenager they can't read/do something. Let me know how that goes.

Have any of your kids read "The child called IT" or "The Lovely Bones"? (Both have what? Child Abuse. And one even has rape and murder) I know my 15yr old niece told me to read those. Where did she pick them up? The Library. They're reading the books weather you want them to or not. If they're subjected to them, and they're popular, teenagers flock to them. But Hey, it's cool if they read Twilight and become overly clingy and obsessed with boys and want sex but not marriage. Oh and Vampires, and blood, murder, stalking, and narcissism. Your kids are reading it, might as well be a well written book like this one and not just a young adult paranormal book. Let your kids read something that has to do with real world issues and see how they handle it, and be there to explain their questions.

I guess it depends, if my daughter at that age wants to read them, why not? if she´s interested in reading them, it´s because she´ll probably be a very good reader, and these are not fairytales. I think that if a person is interested in reading a book is because she´s mature enough... and also because teenagers often do things because they are forbidden rather than because they have a real interest in the theme, so if you let them read a certain book and they get hooked in the story, they will finish it, otherwise they will just let it go.

When I was thirteen years old I read it and enjoyed the story thoroughly, and the "mature scenes" taught me a lot about what actually happens throught the world and made me want to make a difference. It all boils down to the child and how mature they are though,

I'm 18 and I loved it. Make sure your daughter is mature enough to read it though so I think a safe age to start reading this series is maybe 17 but 18 would be better. Actually a lot of people are still so immature by the time they reach 18 so it's still up to you, the mother, to decide. This is fiction but some crimes in these books we all know for a fact are very real. But I'd choose this over the hundreds of brainless young adult books that are hyped up because most of them promote the "wild, young and free" and "live fast, die young" kind of lifestyle. I know this book has a lot of explicit stuff in it, but as long as your daughter is in the right place morally, I'm sure she can handle this. Besides, your daughter will be able to pick up some new insights from this book, surprisingly. :)

I believe that as long as it's known what to expect content-wise that it's perfectly fine. I think that I would let my daughters and sons know that the sexual lifestyle isn't necessarily the safest (they don't seem to mention protection much)... and it's not an STD free world out there. So I would hope they don't just sleep around when they feel like it and that it would have some meaning, but if not at least that they would protect themselves.

As for the violence against women, I would say it's important for them to know it's out there. Not to be paranoid, but ready to defend themselves.

I'm currently 16. Last year when the movie came out, I was looking into reading the books. I decided not to, because I couldn't really get into them. My mom was actually glad, because she wasn't comftorable with me reading them, but she let it be my choice. I think you should talk to your daughter, but not make the decision for her

it´s a great choice

I read the triology and I'm sixteen. We young ladies are not as impressionable and as wimpy as you may think! I reccomended this to my mum and I think she was more shocked than I was.

Let's face it, sexual violence against women is a fact and it's never going to go away. Any 15-17 year old girl who doesn't know this is dangerously naive. A girl is sheltered only as long as she's literally under the roof of her parents' house--and sometimes, sadly, not even then; once she steps out the door she's at risk. I would certainly want my daughter to be prepared.

It would depend on her maturity

I wouldn't let anyone who is not a teenager or older read the books but 15-17 seems an OK range

Although I agree with most of the post here regarding the maturity of the teenager and reading this book. It surprised me that so many think Lisbeth is a good "role model". I mean she is a strong, smart, and clearly has a mind of her own and refuses to be pushes around, BUT she is also quite violent and takes the law into her own hands. I am currently reading the third book, and don't get me wrong the chapters that focus on Lisbeth are the ones I look forward too. I just think that having your teenage daughter read this so that she can find strength in Lisbeth is a little far fetched. And I might be misunderstanding some of the comments, and for that I apologize. Great books though. I even told my sister when I gave her the first one, that I have put down books for far less but something about this book kept me going. I couldn't put it down even when all the finance talk got a little boring and the mundane paragraphs about how Blomkvist is eating his bagel got to be too long. Great read!

I was a Mature teenager and still wouldnt recomend the book for your daughter, yet! I beleave they should first get into inspirational, character streghteting stories, then, let them face the tough stories with the propper tools when they have stonger fundamentals.

I have girls 17 and 19. Yes. Not sure they would like it though. Not her part of the story his part. JMO. Saw the movie with my 19 year old. she thought it was good but isn't sure whether she would read the books.

It depends. I read this novel when I was about thirteen, and I was able to handle it. It depends on whether or not your child is mature enough to handle the situations presented within the novel.

My step-daughter's mother did not censor her reading, although she would look through the material to be sure it was on her reading level. While she has just turned thirty (and a reader, we are happy to say), I don't think we would have had a problem with her reading something like Girl... when she was in high school. Of course, we would have been available if she had any questions or problems with the material.

Personally, given what passes for mainstream entertainment (on TV, movies, videogames, etc.) I doubt most teens would have major problems with the issues raised in the trilogy.

Then again, as a Librarian, I am sometimes asked by parents for material that they can feel safe giving to their kids. I often suggest that they might want to read the book before allowing their child to have it, but sadly there are some who want to pass the buck.

Depends on the person. I started reading horror books well before 15, so this wouldn't have bothered me at all. I suspect it would have bothered one of my male HS classmates.

Would I go out of my way to hand the book to a 15 year old? No. If my 15 year old expressed interest in the book, we'd talk about the story to give it some context, then she or he could read it if that's what she or he wanted to read and we'd talk about it afterwards. I'd rather be in conversation than be the thought police. If we're raising out kids to be thoughtful adults, then thinking through difficult topics comes with the turf.

How do you stop a 17 year old from reading whatever they want to read? Why would you? When I was 17 if my parents forbid me to read something I would be even more curious and most likely read it in secret. Keep the lines of discussion open.

Why is the question whether you would let your daughter read it? How about your son? Watch Law & Order: SVU or Criminal Minds? 15 yr old kids are already aware of rape and revenge. My parents tried to keep me from reading "adult" subject matter. I read the books when they weren't around. I think it is naive to think that a 15 old of either sex is unaware of rape. I would think if someone is that disturbed by the subject matter they would probably quit reading. I'd rather see someone read these books than Twilight books.

I don't think that there should be an age restriction to any book. Yes the reader should proceed with caution, but they should follow through with a book. Ofcourse, it's not a book for 10 year olds because the vocabulary and violence is too much. If a 13 year old who is mature, wants to read it, why not let them? I am 14 and I'm almost finished with these books, and I don't regret reading them because they have taught me that these things are real and we should always keep our eyes open.

I don't think it is appropriate for under 18. Some of the content, mutual sex as well as rape, etc, is just way too graphic. I know they are exposed to a lot, but I could not sanction it with my daughter.

If your teenager has a want to read the book he or she will read the books with or without your permission. However, wouldn't it be better to have a discussion over what is happening and how this matches your life view. There are many people in this world that have been raped, have had a loved one murdered, have a had a loved one be a missing person. Some people have suffered through any of these events more than once.

It provides you a chance to have a good discussion about real life with your child.

You need to let your kids discover things for themselves. I was fortunate that my mother let me read Stephen King at like 7 or 8. (I was ahead of my grade.)

i'm 13 and i've read the books and rated them 5 star each and watched all the movies

I'm currently in high school and I was aware such things before I read this book. I think this is a great book to wake up someone who's naive to these topics if they're over the age of 12.

I would consider it weird if an almost adult would ask my permission to read a book, I would be worried for him/her.

I would HOPE to be able to raise children who were intelligent enough not to WANT to read junk like this.

(But, yeah... fat friggin chance...)

Someone woke up a zombie thread!

No, I wouldn't recommend it to a child. Or an adult for that matter.

Several reasons. It isn't very written. It glorifies rape and shows a main character using rape as revenge.

It pretends to show strong female characters (one in particular) but also makes them really weak. And of course every woman fancies the author character.

I would hate it if anyone was introduced to this book on the pretence that it was either good writing or showed realistic characters.

It all depends on their maturity. I was reading Stephen King's horror book by the time I was 12/13 because I outgrew children's book, loved scary nightmares (not sad nightmares) and already watched plenty of horror movies. And I have neither killed anyone or threatened to kill anyone or got into trouble, or have worshiped the devil or got into any fights. I have become an ordinary adult who maybe is just a be more cautious and more sensible than most, especially around alcohol. I've been drunk and had fun, but I never had a blackout, collapsed or been in a comatose state with pants around my head or ankle.

So yeah, I say give them horror and thrillers, especially if it teaches people to be more aware and sensible.

Plus, what happened to Lisbeth was very unlucky and because she had trouble reading people, she didn't see the danger, but it teaches women to be aware of being alone with creeps.

my daughter read them at 15 and recommended them to me. We both enjoyed them

I would, but I am a relatively permissive parent. Also, when I was that age, I read whatever I wanted to read... So, really, can you stop her?

If you haven't read them, read them, too. It would be a good opportunity for important mother-daughter discussions on sexual abuse, as well as to discuss your own personal values regarding sex, whatever those may be.

Sure, let her read them - they're riveting mysteries!

Launchingstars wrote: "I'm curious, as I raised 4 boys. I'm not sure I would want my daughter to read them till maybe college? Too scary, unless they could take away two things 1) Be the 'Victor vs. Victom', 2) buy and c..."

It does depend on your daughter, of course --- each person will respond/react differently depending on background, personality, beliefs, etc. --- but I read the book in college first, and I thought that was plenty soon. It just has a lot of really difficult, challenging subject matter to wade through; a lot of teenagers (boys or girls) simply aren't ready for that level of maturity yet.

Doesn't matter what they read. It is good that they are reading at all. The important thing is that they develop their own opinions and are able to reflect on it critically. Then again my daughter is only 6 so I may change my mind when she is 9 years older.

I'd say yes. Although I'm a fairly worldly teen, I think at that age she's defiantly ready. One thing that most parents don't seem to notice is that reading a book doesn't always shape the reader's life. Or make a significant impact, for that matter, unless your daughter has an aversion to gore. Also, I believe it's important for kids to know what, or who could be out there. I read it when I was much younger, and I think it's a great book.

I read these books when I was 13 and I loved them so much because they awakened me and they warned me from the world outside my safe zone. I think it isn't right to prohibit children to read books, which are not "suitable for their age", because books can only improve children.

Sorry for my English, I'm Italian.

Best way to regulate is not to regulate at all..
But if you still want them to read these books there is no universal chart stopping or letting you. All kids are different, some are mature for their age.
I think you should just take a hint from his/her other hobbies and you will know the answer.

I was always pretty liberal about what my kids read or watched. There are some scene that are definitely not for everyone but most kids have already heard about or been exposed to this type of material by the time they are 15. I think the way Lisbeth takes control of her life, as much as is possible with her issues, is a positive lesson.

By the way, my daughter is now 30, in law school and in the top 5% of her class, one of my sons just graduated with a degree in nautical/maritime archaeology, and the other one is about to graduate with a degree in economics. None of them have ever been in trouble in any way. It just reinforces my belief that as long as their value system is strong then reading books or watching movies that some parents consider inappropriate really doesn't hurt them. However, I do agree it is a parent's right and duty to make the decisions they feel are best for their kids.

if I had a 15 - 17 year old that COULD read these books without needed a map and compass.. I would say BRAVO!!! (

sure why not!

The sexual and violence content in this book can be either unnecessary or disturbing, for one I'm not too much into sex scenes in novel (that's just me). So with that, I will be uncomfortable if my 15 years old daughter would read this book. Yet, if I saw a copy of these books in her hands I will warn her of this content yet tell her it's a great book if action and intrigue is her genre. I don't believe in banning books.

I was a junior in high school when I read these books so I was... 16 or 17 when I read them. I think it's okay. I think if my child was genuinely interested in reading them, I would let my child read them.

I was a junior in high school when I read these books so I was... 16 or 17 when I read them. I think it's okay. I think if my child was genuinely interested in reading them, I would let my child read them.

It seems as though we accept the reality that privacy is dead and so is innocence.