Part of you pours out of me in these lines from time to time

[primroseburrows]

Reviews like this one drive me crazy. Not for the subject (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is on my short list of books to read), but for the whole "this is what you should read after you've outgrown Harry Potter".

The question I have is this: Why does one have to "outgrow" Harry? For that matter, why is any book considered YA if it has a child for a protagonist? Take His Dark Materials as another example. Sure, the heroes are twelve years old, but so what? Does that mean that adults can't read it? HDM is a retelling of Paradise Lost, and how many kids would get that bit? Not that kids can't read it and get something out of it without the hidden analogies, but HDM is not just a childrens' story, and neither is HP. They're good stories, yo, and not just for kids (in the case of HDM, I think a lot of it would fly over kids' heads).

I saw parents bringing their five-year-olds to see Prisoner of Azkaban. That was a scary film! Too scary for kids that age. And yeah, it's a case-by-case call, but I don't think there are many seven-year-olds that would be able to get through Order of the Phoenix, nor should a lot of them be allowed to. OoTP is as scary in some places as parts of Lovecraft or Poe.

I'm not saying kids shouldn't read these books. I just wish that people, including reviewers, would stop telling readers that they're something to outgrow. (the actual line in the text says, "It also gives Potterites who have outgrown Hogwarts a new school to attend. ").

It's insulting to me and, I would think, to the authors of the books. [/rant]

Comments

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I think that with children, it's a case-by-case basis. There are ten-year-olds who could handle OotP, and there are fifteen-year-olds who couldn't. I suppose it depends on maturity and upbringing, that old nature/nurture saw.

You know, this brings me back when I was reading To Kill a Mockingbird when Scout was witnessing something she knew was wrong but the adults couldn't understand that what they were doing was wrong. Scout had the mental maturity to understand most things that were happening in the world around her more clearly than the adults could. And I believe that in every child, depending on their upbringing, they can understand and comprehend a lot more than what people expect a child to know. Just because they're children doesn't make them less intelligent or slow to pick up on things.

I do believe that children can understand OotP, but in their own ways. Every child interprets the books differently, and for every child that loves it there's going to be some that don't. As you said, it all depends on the level of maturity and their upbringing.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

I do believe that children can understand OotP, but in their own ways

Yeah, I do too. I just think that some kids would be creeped out by some of the darker parts.