The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo question

I would allow a 15 year old to read this if they mature enough. Actually if they wanted to read this book, they are an advanced reader to begin with, so the answer is yes. The 17 year old - yes. It's a great book once you get past the first 100 pages of Swedish business history. The end of book is so good.

depends ... i got in a second hand book store cuz my father recommended it ...and it was truely amazing ...
and i am sixteen ... my sis also loved it ..and she is 15.
so ya..its depends on how much ur daughter can take though ...
cuz this book is HEAVY .

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..."

I was 20 when I read it. I admit skipping over some of the most violent parts. I still remember how I was struck by Maya's strength and survival. It was very empowering for me. I think you have to judge if a younger person is ready for this book not by age, but by their maturity and wisdom. Joan

well that depends upon its reader and it has nothing with the age. it depends on your own will power and ethics and self control. thats all i think teenager is a better age to read this book. :)

I think if the little lady wants to read it, Why not? Sure there's hard and fast issues of the world the main lady deals with but so does 80% of the World. (Maybe more)
I say, there's no issue. However, If she comes to you with questions. Be open with her. You both may learn something new. You both might bond something fierce.

You could try judging the content by the age rating of the film in your country, as that might reflect the prevailing cultural attitude wherever you live. This was written for a Swedish audience, and the Swedish-language film adaptation was rated 15-and-over there. In the UK it was rated 18, meaning adults only, but in the US it was only an R, which I believe means any child under 17 can see it provided they are with a parent. In France it is 12 rated and Canada 13+. It was banned in India. In my opinion the films (Swedish and English were almost identical) were much more violent and explicit than the novels though.

Children that age will usually be reading violent and sexual scenes already though, in the books for their English classes at school, or in the library! It is what teaches them about the adult world in a safe environment. But that might be a cultural thing, I don't know what happens elsewhere in the world. So I guess the main thing as a parent is to just try and keep the channels of communication open about all the things they are curious about, so you can guide them. Just stopping a teenager doing something usually has the opposite effect. :-)

It is perhaps another cultural thing, but you don't say whether you would be concerned with your sons reading it before adulthood (to me the implication of asking the question is that you would be less concerned). If you aren't too worried about them then it really shouldn't matter if girls do too. In fact, treating woman equally is probably one of the main 'messages' of the novel!

It all depends on what they like to read. I think 15 would be a little young but 16 and older, go ahead.

No

It's such a great read with so much intelligence, but there is graphic details that I'd want to shield a 15-16 year old from. 17-18 would probably be ok.

i think books never gonna do other thing that open our mind and grow our knowledge, even if you're a mother and you're scare is better than you open and let her see everything with her own point of view and then you can xplain your own point of view, and if you don't let her reading it if she wants she goona find a way. At least this is how i see the things.

My parents didn't censor my reading, I was reading adult literature as an 8 and 9 year old. I adopt the same attitude with my kids, I am just so happy that the three of them do read, I read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo in 2009, and my middle daughter was 11 at the time picked it up when I'd finished it and loved it, she subsequently read the rest of the trilogy before me.

I read this when I was 14, I didn't mind. And I don't think it's that scary.

I'll drop my 0.02 cents in the bucket. I bought the trilogy as an audio book collection. I listened, found them horrifyingly graphic, and then allowed my 13 year old daughter to listen to them. Why? Not really about the maturity of the reader, only to the extent that they can understand the content.

For me, allowing my daughter to share it with me also allowed her to ask questions and discuss the content of the book. It allowed us to discuss things like marginalized individuals living on the fringe of society. It allowed us to discuss survival after tragedy. It allowed us to discuss power and control, and fault in a rape situation. It allowed us to talk about my favorite plug for my daughter, "girl power."

Personally I want her to read as many books that show a woman of strength being able to take control of her own destiny as I can find. Lisbeth Salendar is by far one of the strongest, most resilient, most resourceful young women in recent literature.

I would not want my daughter to find herself with so little support. I pray she is never victimized to this degree, but I know she will be mentally prepared for the fact that there are those who want to take power and control from her. I know she is aware that women survive. Examples, even fictional ones, are a tool to that end.

I would not want to my teenager to read this. I would have loved for them to read it if those violent and rape scenes were not in the book then I think it would be appropriate. I think it's too much for a young child to have to think about. I do agree that it is very well written.

totally. every book is better than being stuck with the mobile or whatever stupid social network. I read much much more worse books at this age

I found the book disturbing and did not read the sequels. I would guide a young girl to some other choices, though not to the spate of fantasy/dystopian fiction that makes up so much of the Young Adult section these days.

I wouldn't recommend it for a child.

Absolutely not. Yikes! For all the good intentions -- apparently Larssen wanted to draw attention to the social issue of violence against women -- there's something lingeringly prurient (not to say stomach-turning) about all the graphic depictions of assaults on women in the books. No way is this stuff for kids.

I'm middle-aged and I stopped reading it as it disturbed me.

Absolutely not since I couldn't finish it. The sex and gore was pornographic (IMO)and the plot was rather tired.

Depends on the child. I had a freshman student (girl) ask about it as she likes to know what's on my nook. I have to confess, this girl is a really sweet and very innocent student, so I told her the title and said "It's really just too mature and violent for you just know." I encouraged her to talk to her parents before getting the book on her nook.
But beyond this, I'd like girls to be able to open a book and not see rape as a thing that is done to women. I love Game of Thrones, but why was rape there? Lord of the Rings was just fine without it. In fact that book created a clearly egalitarian society (as far as gender goes). So why do we have to keep rape as a literary element? I know it's a reality, but does it have to be in our books?

I am a writer. My first two novels deal with the subject of child abuse, the first book specifically dealing with sexual abuse. While the scene depicting the sexual abuse in my novel was not explicit, I did not want my grandchildren to read it until they were older. I certainly would not want them to read Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I felt the lengthy depiction of sexual violence toward the girl was unnecessary to the story.

My girls are younger, but I would not want them to read them when they are teens.
The writing is exceptional and the storyline intriguing. But they are just to graphic and disturbing.
I read the first one but had to stop reading the second one because of the horror of it.

I read this when I was 12 or 13. I would never prohibit my child from reading a book.

I read the books as an adult and loved them. Yes, it does depend upon the individual teen as to whether they could "handle" the content. To me it isn't about whether my kids could "handle" the content but more along the lines as to whether it is appropriate for them at an age when the decision making portion of the brain is still in formation. For my kids - no...not just yet.

Absolutely not- It's an adult book and a dark one at that.

No! They are fabulous, but very adult!

I wouldn't want my daughter(now 11) to read it if she's 15 now. Even I myself was a little disturbed to read the scenes of brutal sexual abuse. Apart from the question, I'm still skeptical about Harriet grown into such a nice person, considering her family background(being abused by her father and her own brother, and her mother without maternal affection).

Not in a hundred years would I let my child read this. Its unnecessarily filled with sexual violence. I watched the movie because I didn't even think of reading any reviews or even see what it was rated and I was appalled when I saw some of the scenes. I had to walk out. I don't care what the message was it just seemed caustic and harsh. Maybe if our kids had more rainbows and butterflies these days instead of rape and degradation this world would be better. Being the realistic person I am, I know that's never going to happen but that doesn't mean I'm not going to do my best to protect my kids. Screw "depends on the teen," why expose them if they don't have to be? Call me old fashioned or say I'm sheltering them, whatever, but I'd prefer to educate them myself. And just because 99% of kids today are exposed to that stuff already on a daily basis doesn't mean I'm going to make it acceptable or easily available.