I read a ton of Stephen King as a kid and I think my kid will be into it, but I’m not sure which book would be a good entry point. He has so many different types of story from weird to horror to mind bending. What would you use as a good entry for his horror? For an 11 year old.

Update… Thank you so much everyone! This thread is making me want to reread the books myself too 😄

  • kaitco@lemmy.world
    31·
    3 days ago

    I would actually recommend Michael Crichton for an 11-year-old rather than King.

    Jurassic Park, Sphere, Congo, Andromeda Strain; all fantastic novels that will be interesting without traumatizing a young reader.

    I read King’s The Stand at age 11, and about halfway through it, I literally remember thinking, “I might be too young to be reading this…” If you are set on introducing King, Thinner is all right, but I think King’s writing is really best for teens (like 16+) and older.

    • protist@mander.xyzEnglish
      8·
      3 days ago

      I read a collection of King’s short stories when I was about 12, and they still haunt me to this day. I also read all these Michael Crichton books and they were much more my style at the time

    • Signtist@bookwyr.meEnglish
      5·
      3 days ago

      I definitely agree; Sphere was my favorite book in middle school, but it took me a few more years before I got into Stephen King. You can find a lot of Michael Crichton books at thrift stores - it’s how I found mine back then, and I still see them pretty often today.

      • dresden@discuss.onlineMEnglish
        2·
        3 days ago

        Same here, except haven’t really gotten into Stephen King, and my favourite being Andromeda Strain. Sphere was also really good though.

    • atomicorange@lemmy.world
      3·
      3 days ago

      Great recommendation. I read both Jurassic Park and The Stand around this age. Honestly, I’d give the kid synopses of the books and let them choose what interests them. For me at least, the allure of reading something I was “too young for” led me to a lifelong love of reading that has served me pretty well. Depends on your kid, of course!

      IT has child characters which might make it pretty relatable. It’s one of the more frightening options though. If your kid is new to horror, Misery might be a good choice. The Dark Tower series is great and milder on the spookiness. Salem’s Lot is a fun read if kiddo likes vampires. They all have some sexuality discussed, no graphic sex scenes that I can recall. Lots and lots of violence though.

    • Wahots@pawb.social
      2·
      3 days ago

      I read the stand in 9th or 10th grade and loved it.

      However, Congo was an excellent read when I was younger, too.