good 1st time read for an 11-year old?

  • This message board permanently closed on June 30th, 2020 at 4PM EDT and is no longer accepting new members.

Nikki Love

New Member
Jan 6, 2014
2
28
49
Omaha, Nebraska
I am looking for suggestions on what would be a good first time read for my 11-year old. I am an avid fan and have read all Stephen King books, and one of my children would like to start their journey as well. My question..... which one would be most appropriate given my child's age? Thinking of adult content and language here. Thanks for any suggestions!
 

skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
92,168
USA
Yep, I'd go with Eyes of the Dragon as first choice for that age. The Talisman has good fantasy elements, but strong scary themes at times. My daughter at 13 was really uncomfortable at the part where the guy is pursuing Jack in the tavern--it's pretty clear his goal is molestation. That freaked her out, and she decided she needed to be older to read the book. She's since read it this year (just turned 15) and loved it. She really liked IT, too (at 14).

Each kid is different, of course, and has different triggers for what scares/worries them. I've taught my kids to be aware of that and respect it--if they're freaked out, there's no shame in putting a book aside until they're ready for it :)
 

Walter Oobleck

keeps coming back...or going, and going, and going
Mar 6, 2013
11,749
34,805
The Body...in the DIfferent Seasons collection...plus, you can view the movie, Stand By Me...to get an idea of what is inside. When I was a kid, after hearing my Aunt Be a talk about 2001, A Space Odyssey, I wanted and did read the book. The Body is about 11-year-old boys...Bea...only Wally could have an Aunt Be.
 
M

mjs9153

Guest
Definitely Eyes of the Dragon,for an eleven year old..is interesting and fun,scary but not overly so..and introduces the young reader to Messr Flagg,who will tend to crop up in SK's other works..always thought it interesting,wondering if Flagg is alive in this book many centuries ago,or many after our time..guess,on that level of the Tower,one will never know..unless it is really our level,and Thomas and his butler are still chasing that dark man..:icon_eek:
 

The Nameless

M-O-O-N - That spells Nameless
Jul 10, 2011
2,080
8,261
42
The Darkside of the Moon (England really)
The Body...in the DIfferent Seasons collection...plus, you can view the movie, Stand By Me...to get an idea of what is inside. When I was a kid, after hearing my Aunt Be a talk about 2001, A Space Odyssey, I wanted and did read the book. The Body is about 11-year-old boys...Bea...only Wally could have an Aunt Be.
Yeah, the body is about young boys, and a somewhat wholesome story, but it does have a sex scene quite early on from the other story by adult Gordie.

Tom Gordon is a good choice, but again, it does contain a (admitedly brief) mention of Trisha's astranged parents having sex, and has some choice language aswell.

I think I can recall reading somewhere that Stephen wrote Eyes of the Dragon for his own kids, so maybe that is the best place to start.

Of course, alot depends on what level you think your child is at, and whether or not you are ok with them being exposed to sex and bad language, and sometimes violent themes. If he/she reads Eyes of the Dragon and likes it, they will possibly want to continue reading King, and by the time they are 12 or 13, your child will be left with only the "bad stuff". So as long as you think your child is level headed enough, and is aware of the nature of the books and their themes, then start with Eyes of the dragon, then probably Tom Gordon.
 

Hall Monitor

All bars serve the Beam.
Nov 7, 2013
187
1,013
New Jersey
Welcome to the Board!

Eyes of the Dragon, no doubt about it. I just had the same discussion with my 11 year old this past weekend. He got the kid-friendly John Grisham book for Christmas, who is my wife's favorite author, so he wanted to know if my favorite author had any books he could read. As a joke, I handed him the unabridged version of The Stand and watched his eyes bug out of his head when he saw the number of pages. :shock:
 

Liselle

Well-Known Member
Jul 10, 2006
1,586
1,448
51
England
My eldest started on Christine, because he was into cars in a big way. He didn't find the adult language to hard to deal with. My younger son started on the Skeleton Crew because he preferred to try shorter stories. Cujo could be a good one, if they could handle the ending that is.
 

Nikki Love

New Member
Jan 6, 2014
2
28
49
Omaha, Nebraska
Thank you to everyone for your input, it is really appreciated! I am more worried about adult content than language at this point, because she has heard "colorful language" before. I will scan through the suggested books in my library and then pick one for her to try out. I will let you know. Thanks again!!