WLPWTK: How Young Is Too Young?
May 17, 2010 in Book News, WLP Wants To Know
On twitter this morning, I saw Katie & KMont discussing Dear Authors newest reviewer John. John revieweda book that he had no idea was an Erotica until he started reading. No big deal right? Well some commenters freaked out when they found out John is a 15 year old teenager.
Someone even questioned Jane on “allowing” this to happen & a few have posted their own blogs saying how much they don’t want to be reading “adult” reviews by a 15 year old. In John’s defense, he was unaware the book was Erotica.
Where do I stand on all this? I think it’s excellent. John is extremely well spoken for a 15 year old, he even made a comment about the excessive use of the F-Bomb & he defended himself better than 80% of us would have (I’d have dropped some foul language, I assure you). I don’t see the issue with John reading Erotica, have us adults not read the House of Night Series? There’s a ton of YA material out there even I shouldn’t have read & John is half my age!
The first “romance” novel I read, I was 11. Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews. I turned out okay, even reading about incest. I read Lolita in grade 9, while my memory is foggy I don’t think I went weird over it.
John will be fine people, it’s not illegal to read an Erotica, if it was he’d have bought it at a porn store right? How about TV, there’s a lot worse out there than an Erotica where he admittedly skipped some of the sex scenes. I’d rather he be reading than watching porn or playing video games all day. How many 15 year old boys do you know who read? Hell my 28 year old boyfriend hasn’t touched a book since high school.
To me there are worse things out there than Erotica. *shrugs*
That all said…WLP Wants To Know: How Young Is Too Young?
I really don’t see what the big deal is. Dear Author also reviews YA and John seems like a well spoken young man.
Oh the things I read at his age would make my parents put me into a nunnery.
Hell some of the stuff I read NOW, I wouldn’t want my mother knowing about! lol
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by katiebabs and Amanda Leigh, Nat. Nat said: Blame @KMont & @katiebabs for today's WLP Wants To Know: How YOUNG is too YOUNG to read romance/erotica? http://bit.ly/dkZtO1 [...]
Great post, Nat! There are so, so many worse things for a 15 year old teenager, whether they be male or female, to get involved with in this day and age…that said I think I was pretty young when I first started reading romance and even paranormal stuff, although I can honestly say I haven’t had the privilege of reading The Flowers in the Attic, but I did read this book called AMY GIRL at a fairly young age, and it depicts the father beating the mother to death right in front of the main character’s (a young girl) eyes.
Thats what I’m saying, we ALL read much worse as kids & turned out fine. Some of the stories in the newspapers everyday are worse than Erotica.
Imteresting point. I am struggling right now as to how “far” let let my 12 yr old daughter read. Like you said in your post, Flowers in the Attic and even some Jodu Blume were considered pretty erotic for back then.
All in all I guess it would depIend on the maturaty level of the teen involved and if they felt comforatble. Obviously this young reviewer isn’t out highlighing the steamy parts and dog earring it for his buddies. Or maybe he is?
Also, the romance genre has changed from bodice rippers to strong supernatural and female heriones that are equal in strength and smarts to their male counterparts. The back story is sometimes dark and even gruesome at times….just what a teenager likes. Heck us big kids ( for lack of supplying my age) enjoy it.
I guess if this is all the kids into, then it’s all good. He could be doing worse things than enlighting his mind.
Well said!
Awesome topic WLP! I will tell you I don’t believe an age is sufficient to go by, my 15 year old niece has been through more than most kids, and has seen a lot that she shouldn’t, that being said, I recommended all of Ellen Hopkins books to her and her mother, and forewarned her mother that most don’t find it appropriate, but I am a huge Ellen fan, and her writings really reach out to young and old. That being said, my niece identified with a lot of the characters and the situations and adores all of her books now. So depending on the maturity of the child, I think its a one on one basis.
I agree, if the “child” is mature enough I don’t see the issue. Hello Twilight/Breaking Dawn, baby eats Bella’s stomach? That horrified ME & i’m almost 30. LOL
While I might pause at the idea of my 15 year old son reading erotica, the reality is that I read a lot of books that were probably–ok, definitely–not meant to be read by a pre-teen/teen reader. (including Jackie Collins’ and, yes, the VC Andrews novels, etc.) I’m not scarred for life. Much. lol
Seriously, John sounds like he has the emotional maturity to deal with it.
If he was “a kid” about it, maybe I’d have had an issue but he is so well spoken & mature to deal with those comments. Whoa.
Hmmm… can I challenge that turned out ok statement? LOL Great topic Nat, BTW.
Here are my 2 cents:
I was young when I read Flowers in the Attic, 5th grad, what is that like 10/11, so probably around the same time as you. I was also reading Stephen King and Koontz. It was a major leap from my Nancy Drew and Judy Blume summer the year before. It really is all about the maturity level.
Now granted, reading way above my level I think also gave me a more mature grasp on the world. I wanted to be an adult as a teen very badly and acted in the way that the adults acted within the pages I read. And while I was trying to handle myself in an adult manner, the other teens around me were not, so it did kind of label me weird, forward and even gave me a bit of a reputation. Does it make you weird, or turn out bad? Not in any way, I think in fact that it really does help teens see “real” life drama enfold, instead of giving them the filtered version.
I am not a proponent for shielding your teens. Children yes. Impressionable minds should not be viewing ShowTime after dark and stuff. But teens are completely different. They are budding adults and therefor should be treated as such. The things they do in those years direct their entire life from that point off. How many times do you reminisce on actions done in your teenage years that affected you for the rest of your life? If you shield teens, filter their knowledge, feed them false information, in the end it just makes for a badly adjusted adults. Read anything and everything teens, suck it down. How you handle that information is what will define you as a person.
So well put Ra…Para
LOL
I was reading S. King back then too and he was pretty detailed and gruesome. He defined so much of my pre-teen years, I loved me some horror. And now look, we love it still.
Being one of the bloggers in question…
I actually have no issue with his reading material.
At all.
Trust me. I was reading far worse at age ten.
I just questioned why a minor was reviewing for a site that caters to adults. That was really my question. I am still working out what is bugging me about the situation…hence my blog post.
I just checked out your post, here’s my issue. He got the book from Net Galley, you need NO affiliation but just a blog & if I remember correctly they don’t ask for your blog name. He didn’t KNOW it was an erotica, thought it was a straight romance so thats not really his fault, because I saw it yesterday there and it didn’t say Erotica.
I’m all for expanding knowledge, if he wants to read that fine. But he did say he wasn’t fond of the over sexualization & I don’t blame him. At 15 I prob. would have been shocked about some of the Erotica’s that are out now.
Again. My issue was not what he was reading or where he got it. I actually don’t care about that.
And, to get books from NetGalley, you must be 18 (per their TOS) and I figured he must have stated what blogs he blogged for in his profile (I checked out NetGalley and made sure of this). You do have to provide NG with a bio BEFORE a book a request is approved or denied.
It does not say erotica, but it does say clearly that it is Harlequin Spice.
They review YA on DA, so it’s not just an adult blog.
I started reading the VC Andrews series (Heaven anyone?!), pretty much all of them I could get my hands on from about 11 to 13 years old. And I turned out JUST FINE too!
Awesome topic. This book cover takes me waaaayyyy back.
I do not have children, but I do agree with the commenters that there are farrrrr worse things pre-teens could be doing than reading about smexy times in their books. My take on the topic.
You turned out fine? Could have fooled me. LOL
I think it’s such and individual thing. Deciding what age it’s appropriate to read certain things. I think the only people who need to be “concerned” about it is John and his parent/legal guardian.
I can see where people might have to take his age and gender in consideration when reading the review. But as to whether it’s appropriate for him to read it or not….again, that’s up to John and his parent/legal guardian.
Exactly!
I think people are waaay to sensitive these days. I can gaurantee there are things way more offensive going on in high school than a 15 year old reading an erotic historical romance. I think the more important parts of that sentence are being overlooked. Number 1 he’s reading, which is friggin’ awesome because most teenagers I know would rather burn books than read them. Number 2 (erotica aside) he’s reading a historical romance. Dude…I don’t even read historical romances. I say give the kid extra points for even wanting to venture into that territory. (No offense to the historical romance readers out there. It’s just not my cup of tea.) I guess the bloggers who take offense to a 15 year old writing reviews for a blog catered to adults would rather he play video games and rot his brain cells or something. (Not that there’s anything wrong with video games. I like playing video games every now and again.) Lighten up…it’ll be okay. I’m sure he’s going to turn out just fine.
LOL I know, I can’t get into historicals so I’m amazed he stuck with it. He could have just went “ack” and put the book down but he kept going!
Oops typed in my URL in correctly on that last comment!
And since you knew it was coming, here’s my take on the matter. Children, especially teenagers, should never be censored on what kind of information they are allowed to take in to their beany little heads.
Yes, I do honestly mean never. I do in fact mean that they should even be able to download the funkiest German or Japanese porn their deviant little selves can find if they so choose.
It’s not exposure to the freaky things in the world that will screw a kid or teenager up, it’s exposure without the context to give it meaning and moral guidance from someone who’s been around the block a time or two.
That is what parents should be trying to provide rather than protection from all the big, bad ideas that are out in the world. The ideas are always going to be there for the finding and they’re only going to get freakier as freaky people get bored with their current deviation.
Give the kid a solid foundation of guided experience while you can and they’ll have that to draw upon to make wise decisions in the future. Try and “protect” them from the world and it’s like sending a soldier into battle without knowing how to use his rifle because you didn’t approve of guns; it will probably not end well.
Innocence is not an adorable trait to be preserved, it is a measure of how much you have failed to teach your child.
And this is why you are my friend. I am 95% in agreement, but the porn *shudder*
I was going to post to this thread, but Buzz read my mind and said what I would have anyway
It depends on the maturity level of the underage individual (John’s maturity level was impressive, even when people started complaining.), and depending on the family, it could also depend on what parents are comfortable with their kids reading. Every kid differs. Every family will differ. So it’s up to each individual/family.
John seemed well able to handle the subject matter.
If people don’t want to read adult book reviews by an underage reviewer they could always choose not to read John’s reviews – though I don’t know why they would, he does a great job reviewing. I don’t personally particularly enjoy erotic romance these days, but I was drawn in by his review – way before I realized his age.
This is kind of interesting to me since so many adults read and review YA material. I know the issue isn’t exactly the same, but what about YAers who don’t want to read YA book reviews written by adults? Is this some kind of my playground/your playground?
I wasn’t uncomfortable with John’s efforts. He did fine.
I liked his reviews more than 80% i’ve come across & like his take on it, because he IS learning. He might catch things we wouldn’t because we’ve become so autopilot on certain things.
I cringe at the idea of my daughters reading erotic novels. But really, I know they’ve seen more graphic things on TV. For me it’s more a matter of keeping my pure thoughts of them intact than about the reality of what’s really happening in the world.
In my opinion, it’s too young. On the same token, most adults aren’t doing much to protect their children’s innocence. So, it’s a bit too late to worry about too young.
Well I think some YA’s shouldn’t be catered to Teens, so its all a matter of opinion. I’ve read YA’s where they’re MUCH more graphic than their adult counterparts, and wouldn’t recommend them to someone my age, let alone a child.
My issue isn’t with the fact he’s reading it. Whatever. That’s up to his parents.
My complaint against the situation is that he’s a child conversing on an adult forum that deals in explicit materials and these conversations are with people twice his age.
How many of you want your children talking about graphic sex, in graphic language with a bunch of older adults that are unknown to you? That’s the part that bother me.
No where on Dear Author does it have a disclaimer saying its talking about explicit sexual matters, that said I fail to see where is supposedly discussing sexual matters other than in the review its self. In his comments he states WHY he glossed over the sexual content & he’s defending himself. But NO WHERE is he detailing or conversing about sexual content.
That said, Dear Author reviews YA book as well hence why he was hired. I see your point, but I don’t see him doing it so its kinda moot to me.
I forgot to add:
Yeah, he’s a great reviewer. Comprehensive and well-spoken, as well as widely read. I’d be happy to discuss any book with him and hear his insights as long as it isn’t the sexxors. You won’t catch me knowingly talking to someone else’s kid about cock or what you can you do with it.
I’ll pitch in support on the idea that it depends on the maturity level of the reader, rather than chronological age.
I was in 3rd grade when I read Slave Girl of Gor. I found it to be an interesting concept, the philosophy that a woman couldn’t truly feel feminine until she was dominated by a real man. Now then, I grew up and almost all of my heroines are strong, kick @$$ alpha characters. Obviously, reading Slave Girl of Gor didn’t make me think women needed to be submissive.
I went on to read Clan of the Cave Bear, Valley of the Horses and the rest of the books in that series – including the very explicit love scenes. It wasn’t a problem. Nor were the VC Andrews books or Anne McCaffrey books or any of my other favorites.
In contrast, my mom hesitated to let my younger sister read the same books I did – holding off a few years and in some cases half a dozen before letting my sister read the same books. When I asked her why, she just said that I had an “old soul” and my sister might not handle the stories quite as well.
I do think it depends on the maturity of the reader and their ability to enjoy the story without taking it someplace it shouldn’t go.
That said, I think a good point was made that the young man in question is a 15 yr old conversing in an adult forum with unknown people much older than himself. It’s not just about what he reads and how well he handles it, it’s who he talks to about it.
It is all maturity over age, I know 30 year old men who act like they’re 15 still. And they don’t even read.
LOL. I know a few of those too, my ex-husband, for example. But we won’t go into that here.
Some people, men or women, just don’t have the maturity to handle a great many things.
On the other hand, I love meeting people who do.
LMAO all my ex’s
Here’s my take on it. I too was reading Flowers in the Attic at ten years of age. BUT my parents had no idea what I was reading! As long as I was reading, all was fine. I have an eleven yr old son who reads way above his reading level. I try my best not to censor him. I have only taken one book away that was really bad. I do my best to make sure he has reading material that will challenge him without being over his head maturity wise. It is not easy. Granted, an eleven year old is way different from a fifteen year old. But this is something we struggle with all the time. Kids are bombarded with so much sex and violence these days, I try my best not to add to it.
It IS about maturity, females are said to be more mature than males in our teens. So does that mean its okay for EVERY teen to read House of Night or Twilight? No, it doesn’t.
I think people conflate a few issues. If we were talking about a fifteen year old boy being sexually propositioned by an adult, that would be one thing. But we’re talking about a fifteen year old boy without any coercion, expressing his views on a piece of writing that contains sex.
It’s words on paper.
I have a hard time seeing the issue personally. I think in our desire to protect children from things like pedophiles and other forms of sexual exploitation, we’ve gone overboard and forgotten that 15 year olds are sexual beings. They have sexual feelings, attitudes, and opinions. Many of them are HAVING sex with other 15 year olds, whether people want to be in the dark about that or not.
EXACTLY!!!
I think every kid is different. He sounds like he is well read and mature for his age and he can handle it. There are some 15 years old that are idiots and can’t even handle a comic book. At 15 my bother was looking at dirty magazines (yuck), I would have much rather seen him reading regardless of the content.
But I do agree with Sarannba DeWylde’s comment. “My complaint against the situation is that he’s a child conversing on an adult forum that deals in explicit materials and these conversations are with people twice his age. How many of you want your children talking about graphic sex, in graphic language with a bunch of older adults that are unknown to you? That’s the part that bother me.” I think that this is the real problem not the content of the books he is reading.
Where is he conversing about sexual content? He reviewed a book, and replied to comments. None of which were graphic.
I’ve been reading romance since I was about… I’d say 9? Ish? My grandmother had a room full of books. Literally. Stacks upon stacks of books, up to the ceiling, crammed in every corner, on every surface, and overflowing the closet. So many books, that you could barely walk through the “aisles” she’d created. Guess what: they were all romance. Being the avid reader I am, I grabbed one and started reading. And was immediately hooked.
Granted, most of these books were the early Harlequins that only hinted at the characters having actual intercourse, but there was enough innuendo that I knew what was going on. And yeah, I might be a bit pervy now, but I don’t think I’m perverse (there’s a difference) or damaged because of it.
I don’t know if the review this kid wrote was taken down or if the link is broken, but when I click on it, it comes up as “not found”. Judging from the other commenter’s remarks, I’d say he’s intelligent enough to know what’s going on, and won’t be scarred from it. Hell, he’s FIFTEEN. My little brother just turned 16 and he knows almost as much about sex as I do. And I’m 27! Times, they are a-changin’. Kids know more about sex at a younger age than previous generations. God knows I learned about it earlier than my mom. And she learned about it earlier than her mom… see where I’m going with this?
My point is, reading a *gasp* erotica book at 15 isn’t going to scar, emotionally damage, or otherwise harm this kid. It’s not going to turn him into a sexual deviant who likes to touch himself while he watches dogs go at it. If nothing else, it will help him to expand his horizons, broaden his mind, and maybe help him to treat his eventual partner just a little bit better in bed (when he’s much older & in a stable relationship, of course).
I think this whole “OMG HE’S TOO YOUNG!” thing has gotten wayyyy out of hand.
Me too, he is more well versed than half the adults bitching about it.
I’m talking about this very topic with a friend on IM and I just *headdesk*ed because this 15 year old kid is smarter and more well-spoken than I am at 27!
Seriously, WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL?
LMFAO
It’s not going to turn him into a sexual deviant who likes to touch himself while he watches dogs go at it.
He’s a fifteen year old guy, yeah? He’s probably good to go for touching himself while watching grass grow or paint dry.
He’s a fifteen year old guy, yeah? He’s probably good to go for touching himself while watching grass grow or paint dry.
The pervy book reader/reviewer in me says: ROFLMAO – so true!!
The older (and very protective) sister of a 16 year old boy says: *hides my eyes & ears* I don’t want to think of that!
I think I was around 13 when I stumbled upon Anne Rice’s very erotic Sleeping Beauty series. And I bought it from B&N thinking it was just a normal fantasy, no one said a word to me. I survived, became what I like to think of as a highly functional adult and have no latent issues with Disney princesses. That same year I saw Stephen King’s It, which messed me up for life. Didn’t sleep for weeks, and to this day will punch a clown in the face if it gets anywhere near me. *shudder* I won’t get on my soapbox about how no one cares how much death and gore we are exposed to on a regualr basis as long as there is no *GASP* SEX. Instead, I will just answer the question. Would I intentionlly hire/ask a 15 year old to review erotica or even most romance? No, but not because I think they couldn’t handle it, it’s just…creepy. But if they were to stumble upon some sex scenes in a book, I would not freak. I would just hope we could all handle it like adults, maybe be more careful next time, and move on quickly to escape the awkwardness.
BWT–Lolita was MESSED UP. Ick. And yet is makes best book of all time lists regularly.
I hated that damn book, it tripped me out when I re-read it in College. Ugh. *shudder*
I agree that it is no big deal. I did not read romance or erotica as a child, but I did have Stephen King’s Misery taken away from me in 7th grade. My teacher told my mother that I should not be reading material like that. My mother’s comment, “At least she is reading, how many of the other kids are reading?” I also watch horror movies when I was “too young”. I am mostly okay.
LMFAO I like your Mom
As long as John’s parents say a-okay there shouldn’t be anything wrong with it. Granted he should have at least been informed it was an erotica book. Also aren’t boys that age usually *cough* reading Maxim and other risque magazines…?
I second what The Mighty Buzzard said.
Oh yes they are!
Also aren’t boys that age usually *cough* reading Maxim and other risque magazines…?
Nah, I went straight for Penthouse and Hustler. Today though there’s good old Internet porn and asstr.org.
there should be like a “welcome to the internet, here is your guide to porn” pamphlet or something. Im 31 and never heard of asstr.org LOL.
The first adult book I read – at age 9! was Clan of the Cave Bear. Where the main character is raped repeatedly throughout the first book.
I purchased 2 books when I was 15 that I thought sounded really yummy – they were hardcore BDSM books.
You know that saying, Age is just a number? I think that should be applied in this situation. There are many 15 year olds who no, probably shouldn’t read it. But I don’t feel that age is the deciding factor here.
How many movies has John watched that had sex acts in it?
Probably a ton by now.
UG! This has me riled! I should have read the other comments first, as most said exactly what I said.
Why have we as a society become so repressed? Shouldn’t we be moving forward? We used to watch much worse that this on tv. Is violence better than sex? It’s ok to have gory gruesome violence in movies and tv, but we can’t show a boob without a R rating.
*sigh*
Can’t show a boob but if its a documentry on breast feeding, theres boobs. I dont get it.
No kidding. It’s boob oppression is what it is. Free the boobies!
*shakes head*
I just skimmed John’s review and the comments. Personally, I think the complaints are silly about his age in terms of him reviewing the novel. He’s on the site to review novels. He happened to pick up a book to read and whoops, it’s erotica. Now what? He read it and now he’s not suppose to review it? That’s just plain silly. Furthermore, if I had read his review, I would have never known he was fifteen unless he or someone mentioned it.
I’m going to jump into his parents’ shoes for a minute. Would I want my children talking to adults about sexual content? Well, my initial reaction is no. Then again, I need to put it into perspective. I would be more than happy for them to receive sex education in school, provided by an adult instructor. So I can’t completely rule out no talking to other adults about sex.
Okay, so this isn’t sex ed, and the adults are strangers. Would I be comfortable? Yeah. But on the same token, I saw nothing graphic in the posts. It was a young man saying he felt uncomfortable with the sex scenes, and it was his first erotic read, oh…and get over it.
I think as a parent I could deal with my daughters reviewing an occasional erotic book as long as I’m aware of what’s happening. Sure, I’d prefer they weren’t reading them. I like pretending they’re innocent. 
Here’s the thing. If I let my children blog, they’re bound to encounter adults. It’s rather silly to think otherwise. Even if my child only read YA novels, I’d wonder how much sex was in it anyway. Have you taken a look at what’s on TV these days? If we took it at face value, every teen is having sex–Vampire Diaries, Kyle XY, Smallville. I’d be kidding myself if I thought it wasn’t in the books, even if they weren’t on a graphic level.
I’d hope his parents are aware of his online activities. Given the popularity of Dear Author, I’m going with the assumption they are. I say if adults have a problem with their children going online talking with strangers about erotic novels, then they should restrict their own children from doing so. If you as an adult have a problem with a teen talking about erotic novels, then don’t read his reviews.
He’s not breaking the law. He’s giving his opinions about a book he’s already read. It’s not like anyone can yank the knowledge back out of his head. Sometimes people just need to worry about themselves and stop trying to live the lives of everyone else.
AMEN!
I started reading romances at age 12. They were not erotic, but probably not really what my parents really wanted me to read. Of course, I stole them out of my mom’s romance stash, so it’s not like she wasn’t reading them too. I introduced my oldest niece to romances too and my sister was okay with it(oldest was 15 at the time). Of course, she had already read all of the Gossip Girl books by then and they are filled with sex from the very first book and they are YA books.
Yep, I think we all stole our moms books
Nah, I stole my dad’s magazines.
I remember reading Forever and Flowers in the Attic at 10 or 11. Then I started on my grandmother’s collection of Danielle Steel novels. I’m a relatively, normal 30 year old now. As a mom, I think it depends on the kid. My son is 10 and if a book had sex in it he would probably toss it. He prefers his books with fart jokes. With him we struggle more with violence (video games, action movies etc.). I’ve had people comment on my lenience with his viewing but I know my son and I know what he can handle. My 5 year old is obsessed with kissing (we’ve actually had notes sent home from school because of my serial kisser) so I think she’ll be fiending for the romance novels at an early age. When that time comes we’ll just handle on a case by case basis. What is ok for one 15 year old might not be ok for another. I’ve also found that if something is off limits, they want it more and I’d rather them openly read it and not hide in the closet with a flashlight. Open communication with your kids makes parenting so much easier.
I did read John’s reviews and he seems like a mature 15 year old who handled his first glimpse of erotica just fine. Having read Sinful (which made me blush), I felt his review was very insightful and I didn’t sense any permanent damage from his exposure
I’d imagine by the age of 15 most kids know all about the birds and the bees so I doubt he learned anything he didn’t know.
I think that, if you can handle it, you are never too young. If you’re reading a book and suddenly realize it’s an erotica, or whatever, and this disturbs you … put it down, lol. No-one’s forcing you to do anything! If you don’t have a problem … well, I don’t have one either, hehe … enjoy
Oh WOW. Do the complainers have any concept of what a 15 year old is like these days.
The majority CAN’T SPELL for shit.
The majority NEVER CRACK A BOOK unless they’re forced to.
The majority will usually choose to WATCH THE MOVIE INSTEAD or waste a few good hours searching for it online in desperation.
Most teens? “BOOK? WHAT’S A BOOK? I’M BUSY TEXTINGGGGGG!”
yeesh.
Seriously. This teen should be APPLAUDED!
And I say the guy can write circles around a lot of so-called book bloggers I’ve come across.
Meh. The things people choose to pick upon. WTF?
oh and PS: Erotica? The kid is 15. I’m sure he didn’t come across anything new. Nor was he reading freakin’ penthouse letters or some shit.
Bravo!! Applause!!
EXACTLY.
I was sneak reading (didn’t have to sneak too much, my parents never censored my reading) my mom’s books from a very early age. We always looked at my dad’s playboys and read any books we could come across. Some were “regular” books with sex scenes in them, some were romances and others were straight up nasty. I never limited my own children’s reading. I think if you’re old enough to understand the book, well, there’s more to a book than just the erotica. Unless of course, you’re reading straight porn – and let’s face it, kids are going to get into it.
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