I often tell people that I write books for young adults, and for adults who are still young. Sometimes, parents ask me if a particular book of mine, including the latest one, Stray Cats, is appropriate for their child. Understandably, most of them don’t want their kids exposed to certain language, scenes, or themes that they might not be ready for.
The easiest, best way I’ve found to answer the parents is to assign to my books the movie ratings that everyone is familiar with. I also add some commentary on what that means, and what parents can expect to find in each book.
Starting with my most recent release, here’s how I rate each of my published books (not counting Hand-Selling Books: Making Money and Winning Fans, which is a non-fiction guide for writers to help them sell books in person).
Stray Cats: Rated PG-13 (“Parents Strongly Cautioned; some material may be inappropriate for children under 13”). While the overall tone of Stray Cats is light-hearted adventure, there is violence, with heroes fighting monsters. There is gore: some of the monsters get limbs and heads chopped off, and a few people get turned into puddles of goo.
Some sections of the book might cause concern. One has an apocalyptic theme. Another has dialogue with swearing, a slur (because mean people say mean things), and mentions (but not depictions) of drug use and sexual activity. There are scary situations in part of the book, particularly a chapter where a witch has abducted a teenage boy.
Lost Dogs: Rated PG-13. The predecessor to Stray Cats, my 2014 novel Lost Dogs could be rated similarly. Lost Dogs leans heavily into the end-of-the-world theme mentioned above, and has people getting liquified. There’s some swearing, and there are scenes where dogs fight each other.
This Wasted Land: Rated R (“Restricted; under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian”). A dark fantasy/horror novel, This Wasted Land is wall-to-wall frightening, with gruesome monsters, copious gore, and lots of violence.
Alyx, the 17-year old protagonist, uses profanity like punctuation. The book explores the theme of sex, particularly its scary and unpleasant aspects, and there are scenes that are graphic and emotionally raw. I strongly advise against any child under the age of 15 reading it.
Dragontamer’s Daughters: Rated PG (“Parental Guidance Suggested; some material may not be suitable for children”). Written for 12-year old girls, and hearkening back to Little House on the Prairie, 2012’s Dragontamer’s Daughters is the most family-friendly novel I’ve done to date.
There are a few swear words used in stressful situations, and there is violence, primarily dragons fighting each other. It’s long (540 pages in softcover), but if one’s kids have the stamina and vocabulary skills to read any of the Harry Potter books, they’ll have no trouble with DTD. I’ve known children as young as 9 to enjoy it.
Our Wild Place: Rated G (“General Audiences; all ages admitted”). This is a picture book meant to introduce young children to the joys of playing outside. There is nothing offensive or scary in it.
Later on this year, I plan to release two more children’s books—Pimmi Makes a Friend; and How the Kangal Got Her Mask—both of which will be rated “G.”
If you, as a parent or merely as a reader, have any questions or comments about any of my books, please drop me a line on my contact page, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
Kenton Kilgore writes killer SF/F for young adults and adults who are still young. Follow Kenton on Facebook for frequent posts on sci-fi, fantasy, and other speculative fiction. You can also catch him on Instagram.