Age appropriateness

[Jondesu]

My son just finished The Hobbit, and I’d love to get him into Sanderson but I worry I’m jumping the gun since he’s only 9, even though he’s an advanced reader. I’ve read The Reckoners but it’s been a while, can ya’ll remind me how age appropriate (or not) it would be for someone his age?

[Honorless]

1 hour ago, Jondesu said:

My son just finished The Hobbit, and I’d love to get him into Sanderson but I worry I’m jumping the gun since he’s only 9, even though he’s an advanced reader. I’ve read The Reckoners but it’s been a while, can ya’ll remind me how age appropriate (or not) it would be for someone his age?

Uh... the opening scene was a bit much but the rest of it is PG

[Marukka]

It's a tough question. My daughter is 7 and I would say that she is more than 2 years away from being ready for The Reckoners, but not all kids are the same. 

The thing that might be the most problematic in my estimation would be the overall very dark tone of the books. People often die violently and the whole world is constantly in fear. But I guess you can predict how your son handles things like that better than I do. 

[Janci]

I've offered to my nine year old that she can read the Reckoners (though she hasn't yet) and she's read Skyward and Starsight and loved them.  My personal metric was the Harry Potter books--book seven is real dark, with lots of death and so forth.  She'd read that and handled it fine, and I'd say that a kid who can read and be okay with the later HP books will be fine with Sanderson YA content.  The hobbit isn't nearly as dark, though, so it just depends on the kid.

(Edit: I said the Hobbit isn't as dark, but now I remember being real sad about Fili and Kili as a kid.  Still don't think it's as violent?  But I haven't done a side-by-side comparison.)

Edited July 17, 2021 by Janci

[Regent]

I read Reckoners around that age too and most of the stuff I didn't understand just went over my head...but it all depends on the kid, I suppose. Reckoners is pretty violent with the gang fighting Epics, wielding guns, deaths, etc,. Aside from the violence (and some gore but it's not too severe IIRC) it's pretty much PG. If you still aren't sure though, Skyward, Rithmatist, and Alcatraz are pretty good options

[Jondesu]

Thanks, everyone. I forgot how violent it was, honestly. I do think I’ll hold off for now, but maybe try the others. I’ve got a long list of other books for him to read, so there’s no hurry.

[GoWibble]

Alcatraz is a good humorous one with some serious undertones and moments. It's great

[Jondesu]

I can’t get into Alcatraz myself, but I may have him try it. I got him a copy of The Rithmatist, but I also got Little House In The Big Woods and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the same time (which is the one he chose to start with) so he’s all over the place.