Determining the appropriateness of a book for certain age groups can be tricky. The choice mainly depends on the maturity level of the reader and the book’s content. This guide focuses on the book ‘Icebreaker’ and its suitability for the 12-year-olds.
Content Summary
‘Icebreaker’ is a college sports-themed romance novel. The story unfolds with the lives of the main characters, Stas and Nate, college students at the University of California. The narrative covers their interactions on and off the ice as their feelings for each other deepen, twisting a story of competition and rivalry into love.
Strongly Mature Content
The book contains very explicit and detailed sexual content. The extent of this material goes beyond sporadic romantic scenes. Instead, it explicitly describes a variety of sexual interactions and positions that might be too mature for young adolescent readers.
Potential Impact on Young Readers
Exposing 12-year-olds to such explicit content could potentially affect their self-esteem and self-image. It may lead them to compare themselves or their bodies to the characters, causing unhealthy self-criticism. Besides, the frequent use of coarse language and extensive portrayals of alcohol use might send an inappropriate message or influence to young readers.
Story Depth and Takeaways
Although the narrative contains explicit content, ‘Icebreaker’ also provides educational value and great messages. It portrays college life, offering glimpses of independence, friendships, and parties. However, the overemphasis on explicit content may overshadow these parts of the story.
Parents’ Role
As the guardians, parents have the responsibility of assessing the content their children are exposed to. A brief skim through the book or online reviews could give an idea about how explicit the content is. Direct communication is key to discuss such topics and set healthy boundaries in intimacy.
Conclusions
Although ‘Icebreaker’ may be appreciated by older readers, it seems to have content that’s quite stark and explicit for a 12-year-old reader. The maturity and level of understanding vary from one 12-year-old to another, thus the appropriateness of this book varies too. Before providing such books, parents may want to skim through them or read available reviews online to be assured of their appropriateness for their children.