Woman warns of ‘totally inappropriate’ books teenagers may want to read

Parents usually don’t want to stop their children from reading. Whenever I see my child with a book in his hand, it fills me with pride.

Firstly, because those few minutes of reading definitely make up for the three hours of tablet time, and secondly, because I am an avid reader myself. I would love to see my child follow in my nerdy footsteps.

If my child came up to me at Target or Walmart and begged me to buy him a book, how could I say no?

Fortunately, I know the world of books quite well and therefore know what reading material would be suitable for her age.

However, if your child loves to read and you’re not very familiar with BookTok—or with books in general—you may be inadvertently buying your child some *saucy* reading material that may be a little too mature for adults.

One BookToker wants to warn parents about some “completely unsuitable” books that their teenagers may want to read, pointing out that some of the cartoon covers of these books definitely exude adolescent energy and therefore make parents think the books are perfectly fine for children.

“I’ve seen too many pre-teen girls convince their parents to let them buy completely inappropriate books on the Target shelf,” TikToker @lucieslibrary begins her video.

“So today I’m going to show you the books that look innocent but are actually pure filth and not suitable for young eyes.”

First, Lucie recommends keeping tweens away from the books Icebreaker And Wildfire written by the author Hannah Grace.

“They look so innocent. They’re like cute little cartoon covers. What could be in here that’s not appropriate? Pure spice, okay? Pure spice! Not appropriate for little middle school or elementary school students, God forbid,” she says.

Next, Lucie focuses on the A Court of Thorns and Roses (also known by the popular acronym, ACOTAR) Series by Sarah J. Maas.

“No, this whole series is not suitable for young middle school students yet. They are super popular on the internet. That’s maybe why kids want to buy them, because everyone is talking about them… We’ll wait with that. There are a lot of scenes, especially as you go further in the series, that are full of smut, okay? It’s for adults. Great story, great adventure story. Perfect for Youthe parents, to read. But for the little ones, maybe we should choose other options, okay?” she suggests.

Lucie also recommends that parents do not allow their children to Twisted Series by Ana Huang.

“I see this one all the time at Target. It’s easy to put in the cart because it doesn’t look super inappropriate from the outside. That’s it. It’s for us adults looking for great adult content. Otherwise our little ones will wait until they’re over 18,” she says.

Lucie also mentions the Things we never got over Series by Lucy Score – another series with adult content and a misleading cover.

“Back with another series with super cute covers. I mean, they look just adorable. You have to give them that, but what could be so inappropriate about it? It looks so good on the outside. There’s a lot, a lot inside that is so inappropriate,” she says, before moving on to another hugely popular book series with a little spice that might not be suitable for tweens – The fourth wing Series by Rebecca Yarros.

“If your kids are on BookTok, TikTok or Instagram, these books are everywhere. And great adventure stories, okay? But also great adult content. So we’re not going to pick up those books for a while. A lot of things in here might be a bit much for innocent eyes,” she mentions.

After completing her list of books, Lucie clarifies that she is not trying to shame parents for buying or letting their children read these books. She just wants to make parents aware that some of these series contain some, if not a lotwith adult content.

She concluded by saying, “If you’re OK with your kids reading this kind of adult content, go ahead. I’m not going to embarrass you as a parent. They’re your kids. But if that’s not the case and you just didn’t realize that some of these innocent-looking books actually contain very adult content, I hope this was helpful to you.”

In a video update, Lucie lists a handful of other books that may be too adult for young readers, at the request of TikTok users, including:

• credibility by Penelope Douglas
• Throne of the Fallen Series by Kerri Maniscalco
• Flawless Series by Elise Silver
• Dreamland billionaire Series by Lauren Asher
• Raven Hood Series by Kate Stewart
• Archer’s voice Series by Mia Sheridan
• everything by Lily Gold
• all by Emily Henry
• all by Abby Jimenez
• everything by Tessa Bailey

After her videos went viral, several TikTokers thanked Lucie for her insights, while others joked about what books they read as teenagers.

“Um… all Gen Xers who read Night Flowers when they were 12, raise your hand,” joked one user.

“As long as I read, my parents didn’t give a shit. I read 50 Shades in 8th grade. They were just happy that I read! 😂,” said another.

Another echoed: “I was allowed to read whatever I wanted, and I did that with my own children.”

One parent wrote: “I wish there was an age rating for books like there is for movies 🤣, like I have to google EVERY BOOK my 10 year old picks up 😂”

Another said: “My mother was the one who would buy me books, read them to me and then give them to me and say, ‘If you have any questions, you can ask.'”

I think that’s great! Like the OP said, read what you want to read. Buy what you want to buy. You’re the parent. As long as there is open communication between parent and child where questions can be asked and answered thoughtfully and considerately, maybe these books aren’t all bad.

If you are looking for alternative young adult books for your child, Lucie has created another video with numerous suggestions for parents.