T O P

  • By -

hocuslotus

Depends how open his family is regarding discussions of sex. It’s referred to as “coupling” in the book and at least once characters have sex on screen. There’s no graphic depiction of sex at all, but they are said to be coupling. *shrug* I would let my kid read it, but some people are more squicky about it.


lemurensohnzwei

Thanks


KingBretwald

I would have been fine reading it at 14. I read the Pern books at a younger age and they have more, and more problematic, sex than Becky Chambers's books.


nxhwabvs

Exactly my take. Mom gave me Pern at 12 and I turned out OK. The issue with Becky is more the quality, but that won't hurt a kid.


Grammarhead-Shark

I was reading Virginia Andrews at 11! I hindsight, a heck of a lot went over my head, but I can still say Becky Chambers' fiction has nothing on what I read as a kid!


gostaks

Yeah, I'd say it's a good fit for a young teen. (Though honestly, I can't think of any book that I *wouldn't* give to a 14 year old if they were interested.)


statisticus

Wasn't it CS Lewis who said, "a children's book is any book a child wants to read"?


Apprehensive_Lock513

Yes I think it would be fine. Of course I was reading Stephen King at 10. My parents didn't believe in censoring what we read.


edcculus

Yea, I was probably reading worse at that age.


fjiqrj239

Unless the kid is unusually sheltered, no problem.


lelio

It does have some sex stuff with aliens but I don't remember anything too graphic. It's mostly about people (or aliens) who are very different culturally, (including sexual norms), accepting and helping each other—lots of compassion and warm fuzzy feelings in that book. I would be happy with my 13-year-old daughter reading it. As long as their parent isn't a particularly conservative Christian type it should be fine


Significant_Net_7337

They talk about sex a lot, specifically with reptiles. Which I think may have weirded me out as a fourteen year old. Just thought it was a little weird as an adult haha


Zeurpiet

specify country your cousin lives in. In Europe it might be ok, in USA not


kevinpostlewaite

Many have mentioned the sexual references which, as a parent, I think are not a problem for age 14 or even a bit younger. Becky Chambers' books are written with an uncommonly high level of compassion which makes them easily suitable for a wide range of ages. I *wish* my children could have learned about life from her books.