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- 3 years ago
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CarissaFor an 8 year old, I would agree to wait a few years. There is some language such as "h*ll," "d*mn," and "son of a b****," but each of these are used only once or twice throughout the book. Also, it may be considered fairly dark since the main character is a 14 year old girl on a mission to avenge her father by killing his murderer, and there are references to dead bodies, hanging, and blood from wounds. My personal recommendation for reading this book would be age 12+, but I always prefer telling the "red flags" parents may be concerned about, so they can make their own decision. I hope this helps!
Laura-LeeI think it has less to do with what your 8 year old can handle and more to do with what you want to expose her to. I agree that although there is tons of stuff out there for 8 year olds worse than this, she could pass this by for a few more years. Kudos to moms like you who are diligent and care. 👍🏻
LLR
Tom RomigI am currently reading this aloud via Zoom (pandemic behavior) to my 11-year-old grandson and he is laughing out loud. It's the story of a 14-year-old so he finds it especially appealing since she abounds in, well, true grit.
Elizabeth ShieldsI have a 7 year old, but this would be a little mature for him. I think I would say 10-12+, personally. The overarching theme (a 14 year old going out to avenge her father's murder) would be more mature than I'd want to expose a 2nd or 3rd grader to. I would also want them to have some context for the discussion of "Indian Country," as that's where a lot of the book takes place. But it's a fairly quick read if you want to read it yourself first to see what you think.
I was a big Laura Ingalls Wilder fan, your daughter may enjoy books by Jean Craighead George (although some of them have mature themes as well).
NazziwaWhile my seven year old loves the movie, I think the book would be much too dark for her. She too enjoys anything Laura Ingalls Wilder, but there are other good stories out there written for her age group. I doubt Portis wrote this for young readers to be his audience.
SarahI haven't read this yet (I am about to start), but westerns are typically fairly dark for a kid that age. Try Esperanza Rising, Echo, The Book Thief, Hatchet, or Where the Red Fern Grows if she hasn't read those yet. Those have some of the historical and/or adventure aspects that she may like without the swearing, killing, and whoring that great westerns ususally have plenty of. Update: I just finished True Grit, and am buying the paperback for my 10 year old daughter. I think she will love it. It is a tad salty without being too dark for a kid depending on their maturity and reading level.
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