Oops.

I broke one of my own rules. Now I'm going to regret it, and for several years, I'm afraid. Aubrey brought home The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins a month or two ago, and I read it. I actually enjoyed it very much, although I do agree with the general consensus that it is quite violent. So I put my name on the library waiting list and have now read the second book in the series, Catching Fire. Liked it equally well. The problem? I have a strict personal rule not to begin a series until it is either completely finished or the final installment is imminent. I ignored my rule because the book was right there, in my home, in my hands. Now look what it's gotten me. I'll be waiting for who-knows-how-long to find out (spoiler alert!!) how the uprisings go, whether Peeta survives, and what actually happened to District 13. Drat.

While we're on the subject of teen books, I've been reconsidering my decision not to let Aubrey read the Twilight series until she's 14. She's already told me she wants to watch the movies when she's 13, as they are rated PG-13, and (based on content) I don't think I can object, except for...I don't want her to watch the movies until she reads the books. I need to either keep her from watching the movies for another year (she's almost 13 now) or allow her to read the books when she turns 13. There's a certain amount of emotional maturity I was hoping for before she got into the topics that are brought up by these books, topics like the longevity of teenage love, letter of the law/spirit of the law, the importance of physical appearance, and keeping/losing one's identity in a relationship. But she has read The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and who knows what other books I don't even know exist, books with content that is easily as questionable as the content of the Twilight series. By forbidding only the questionable books I'm aware of, I worry that I am being protective in a way that is hit and miss, which pretty much doesn't protect her at all but tells her I don't trust her. Should I have her okay with me every book she reads, or do I let her read anything she can get her hands on? Does it have to be all or nothing? Hard choice. Like her, I was a voracious reader from early on, and I remember some of the books I was reading by the time I was her age. I don't want her getting into hard-core romance novels as early as I did, but I'm not sure if I can stop it. Or if I should even try. I certainly didn't fall into the traps of the flesh that I fear for her, but it was probably as much from lack of opportunity as from strength of character.

I think I will probably allow her to read the Twilight series this summer, and I will re-read them simultaneously, so that we can discuss any subject matter I feel needs exploration. Hopefully the discussion, the connection, is something that can be extended to include anything she reads and has questions about/issues with. I'd like to keep her in the young adult section of the library for at least a couple more years.

(Just checked Amazon.com, and I guess the third and final book of the series, Mockingjay, is due out at the end of August. Not as bad as I had feared, but still annoying.)