I wonder what modern editors think of calling reading slowly "the editor's gift".

Ha, I think of it more like "the editor's curse," in the sense that I used to be a decently fast reader, and now, after years of editing, I read MUCH more slowly, and with a much more critical eye, too. Of course, there are times when this is a good thing, but for most of my pleasure reading, I wish I could dial down my inner editor a bit.

flea, I applaud your instinct as a librarian, but as a parent, it's a totally different thing. I absolutely think Casper should be allowed to check Divergent out of a library if she wants, and I absolutely think that you as a parent should be able to tell her that you don't think it's right for her.

I took to reading the way otters take to water - I loved reading from an early age, read fast, and well above my grade level in school. When I hit 12 I was finally allowed to check out the "grown up" books from the public library (before then, I'd pull one off the shelf and hide in a corner to read it). The books we read in high school ... some of them I enjoyed afterwards, but they were taught so badly that it almost destroyed my love of reading. They were also censored - no mention of anything hinting at sex allowed (Julius Caeser, when someone's wife says "come to bed" ... not in our book).

I'm not sure what the downside is to letting Casper read the book. You can warn her that it's darker and more upsetting than other things she's read, but it's not pornography or some grotesque splatterpunk.

She might be sad because characters die? It's not like she's going to have night terrors after reading it.

I'm kind of for kids setting their own limits with reading.

To be clear, I think the approach that Dana and Jesse suggested is a good one. I'm not saying you should tell her not to read it, but I do think it's appropriate for you, as a parent, to warn her that she probably won't like it and may find it upsetting.

She might be sad because characters die? It's not like she's going to have night terrors after reading it.

I haven't read much of Divergent, so I can't speak to the content, but if there's a lot of violence, I don't think nightmares are outside the realm of possibility.

I think stuff kids aren't really ready to handle will also go over their heads, to some extent. I read Forever in fourth grade, and while I got that Catherine sleeping with Michael was A Big Deal, it still didn't resonate with me exactly how or why it was so momentous to her until I was a teenager, too.

I recently re-read a book I adored as a teenager and was surprised at the amount of swearing and innuendo that was in it. I was very naive at that age, and all that just wooshed past me.

I don't think nightmares are outside the realm of possibility.

They're certainly possible. I don't think that's a reason not to read a book.

I think stuff kids aren't really ready to handle will also go over their heads, to some extent.

I think this is true too.

I get not wanting your kid to be emotionally traumatized by a story, but I just have more investment in the notion that stories are a way to process complicated and difficult feelings. That stories are a safe way to rehearse things emotionally. So I think it's fine to let a kid read Old Yeller or whatever.

I don't think nightmares are outside the realm of possibility.

They're certainly possible. I don't think that's a reason not to read a book.

Why not? I don't mean that combatively; I'm curious. Because I won't watch or read anything that I know is going to upset me. Even if it's a work of utter genius, I'm capable of making the decision that the tradeoff (never experiencing that work of creative genius versus being upset by something) is something I'm fine with.

And with a kid, it seems worthwhile to know your kid's sensitivities at a given age (at this point, I'm not talking about Casper or any specific kid, just the idea of monitoring what media your kid consumes) and make that judgment call of "Hey, this might upset you; do you want to pass on it for now and maybe give it a shot later?"

When I was fairly young I was TERRIFIED by one of the Grimms fairy tales ... I buried the book at the back of the closet and STILL had nightmares.

I think Divergent is actually a good book for processing issues about separating from family, choosing one's own identity, and stuff like that. I think for a teenager it could be a really healthy book. But my 10 year old is not really mature enough to be encountering that stuff in her own life yet. I've gotten to a lot of peer on peer violence, and relying on Wikipedia I see that things coming include a friend committing suicide, and both the protagonist's parents being killed. Especially as the story is told first-person, which in my opinion increases immediacy, that seems kind of heavy for my 10 year old.