Claire and Jamie
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How Young is Too Young for ‘Outlander’?

By Sarah Bredeman

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As a fan of the Outlander books series, I love to know when people began reading, and how they came up on the books. It’s one of my favorite conversations to have with other Outlander fans.

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My own story goes something like this: I was 13 or 14, I think. It was before I was 15 because we moved the Summer of my 16th birthday and I’d already read all the books (that were out at the time, 1-4).

A young couple with a toddler moved into the house next door to mine and the wife and I, let’s call her Abby, hit it off. I babysat her kid, we talked all the time, she invited me over to eat and learn Spanish (they were from Honduras).

One time we were hanging out in the yard, watching her daughter play in the dirt, and she had this giant freaking book in her hands. The dust jacket had been removed, so I couldn’t see what book it was. I asked and she dove into this lengthy description of the books and what they were about.

“You want to read it?” She asked. Being a voracious reader who often stole books from the “library” at my grandmother’s assisted living facility, I nodded and took the book in both hands and went home right away to read.

I read it in no time. I think I finished Outlander in four days.

Then I read the next, and the next, and the next. And when a new book was released, I read it immediately.

As I moved from girlhood into teenage-dom into adulthood, I grew with Outlander and it shaped me.

Now, as an adult, I wonder how young is too young, though? Blood and guts, gore, sex, rape, violence, and language are all a part of the stories, and there is something to be said for keeping kids from all of that until they are old enough to process it and understand. But how much does sheltering help? Would a better outlook be to let them read, then talk to them about what they’re reading? To have conversations, in the context of the book and the characters, that may otherwise not present themselves?

Now, I don’t have children, but I’m guessing that if I did, I wouldn’t let my 13 year old read Outlander. My mom didn’t know what I was reading, and has said since then that she didn’t care. She’s become an Outlander fan in the last few years and was, at first, appalled that I read what I did at such a young age, but she came to adopt the stance that I’m a better person for it. She loved that I was reading and that it was something I enjoyed doing.

But, it begs the question, how young is too young? And, then, how do you introduce something as wonderful (and scary, and diverse, and violent and sexually-charged) to young people?

I’d love to hear what Diana would say about this particular question. If anyone knows, or has an interview clip/ except, send it our way! And if you have your own experience, let us know!

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