JackieBurns Posted September 30, 2009 Posted September 30, 2009 Found a book my kid was reading in her room the other night. She's not much of a reader so I was pleasantly surprised to see her wrapped up in this book. She left it on her nightstand when she went to school so I decided to see what had grabbed her attention. The books name was What the Mirror Sees. (never heard of it) I started to skim through it and before you know it I was sitting on my daughter's bed reading for the next 2 hours. There was no sex in the book, but the drugs and violence and bullying and cliques and computers (you get the point) had me thinking about what was going on inside my daughter's high school. Was this book a complete fairytale about high school life, or was it an accurate depiction? I don't consider myself to be that parent with their head buried in the sand, but if this book is even half true then I'm totally out of the loop. I brought the book up at dinner and my daughter brushed it off in the way teenagers do so well. She basically said her and her friends were all reading the book because it was "real" to them. This book seems a long way from the Judy Blume I used to read. Any advice?
IfWishesWereHorses Posted September 30, 2009 Posted September 30, 2009 I remember hiding "Are You There God, Its Me Margaret" under my bed thiking my mother would freak if she knew some of the things in it. Maybe "What the Mirror Sees" is a type of Judy Blume of today? I looked it up on Amazon and it has a 5 star rating. My opinion, is that if your daughter is reading all of a sudden and this has caught her eye then it just might foster a love for reading in her. My youngest is a big reader, but my oldest was "forced" to read for school. I tried and tried to find books that would appeal to her. I gave her "Catcher in the Rye" in middle school after bombing out on every book we chose. She actually read it and "kinda" liked it, which was more than I could say for any other book. Then I told her she couldn't use if for school, that it was banned. She thought that was too cool but her teacher wanted to know what had possessed me? I liked the book as a teen, I want her to LIKE reading, not consider it a chore. If you haven't already, go to amazon and read some of the reviews. Times are very different now, children and teens face situations far different from anything I ever knew as a child. Perhaps it helps her to understand the world around her. Perhaps it will encourage her to read more often.
Author JackieBurns Posted September 30, 2009 Author Posted September 30, 2009 Thanks for the encouragement, Horses. I think I'll try your advice.
bentnotbroken Posted September 30, 2009 Posted September 30, 2009 It's normal to read what MAY be some of the realities, but certainly not all of that is going on in every HS. But it would help you to understand some of the thoughts that our young ones may have by reading and using it as a spring board to discussion.
GorillaTheater Posted September 30, 2009 Posted September 30, 2009 It's normal to read what MAY be some of the realities, but certainly not all of that is going on in every HS. But it would help you to understand some of the thoughts that our young ones may have by reading and using it as a spring board to discussion. Good suggestion. There are times with a teen that ANY springboard to discussion is a good springboard.
Peaceful Guy Posted October 2, 2009 Posted October 2, 2009 dont freak out!! kids are and will always be dramatic! i think you should read the book and then chat about it with your daughter.. not to pry for info,, but to reassure yourself that shes a smart, independent, free-thinking person capable of making her own decisions! also, you could maybe sneak in some advice and stories of your own..
westernxer Posted October 2, 2009 Posted October 2, 2009 Just be grateful it wasn't one of the "Twilight" books! LOL Literature isn't always pretty, and thank goodness! Your daughter sounds very bright. I'd be proud of her for trying to stay grounded.
dobler33 Posted October 2, 2009 Posted October 2, 2009 anyone who works with teens can tell you that these things are very much a reality in their daily lives, at least for the majority of high schools. there may be schools out there that have no drug trade, where no one is having sex, where there is never any violence and all the kids act like the brady bunch, but i certainly don't work in them and i don't think i've ever heard of one. and yes, it is scary. it's very difficult to get over our terror of these things happening to our kids in order to be able to support them in where they are now, but that's what we have to do. with every generation it seems the ante gets upped and the kids are dealing with bigger and bigger stuff. telling them not to doesn't really work. the best thing in my opinion is to arm them with as much information and decision-making skills training as you possibly can and support them when they need support. good luck. it's ugly out there.
callingyouuu Posted October 4, 2009 Posted October 4, 2009 The Perks of Being a Wallflower Probably one of the greatest books ever written about today's teenage culture. It has plenty of everything the OP mentioned, but it's presented in such an engaging way from the perspective of a teenager who is generally unfamiliar with what is going on, which to some extent can be represented by today's parents. Highly recommended.
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