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Kin: The Good Neighbors, Book One

(2008, Fiction - Fantasy, Written by Holly Black, Illustrated by Ted Naifeh)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 13, age appropriate for kids over 14; suggested age 13.

  • Is it any good?

    3.0

  • Common Sense says

    Spiderwick author's graphic novel for teen fans only.

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 13–14

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    After Rue's mother leaves, her father just sits on the couch and doesn't go to work. Rue says "no worries" and tries to act cool about her mom's disappearance. Rue sees an alternate world populated with faeries and monsters (trolls, goblins, demons, skeleton creatures). One teen says she needs a quadruple shot of coffee because "I want my blood to run black with java." The teens break into abandoned buildings and take pictures of themselves in masks to post on the Internet. The faeries are so thin their hip bones show. Rue breaks into an apartment.

  • Violence:

    Rue's father, a professor, is arrested as a suspect for killing his wife and one of his university students. The student was strangled. A faerie describes how humans threaten them with fire or scalding water; then a scene shows a woman killed (with her dead body marked with burns) because her husband thought she was a faerie changeling. Tam drugs Rue to kidnap her. A young man steals a swanmaid's skin and makes her his sexual slave. The swanmaid and her brother make a suicide pact; an illustration shows her with a large, sharp knife.

  • Sex:

    Some nudity including a profile of Rue's mother gardening in the nude and a swanmaid sex slave shown on a bed -- private parts are covered in both cases. One of Rue's male friends tells her to "give me a big wet one. I've been told my tongue is very relaxing." Lots of skimpy attire, down to bikini tops and thong underwear. Rue and her boyfriend kiss passionately. Girls hit on a musician after a concert, putting their hands up his shirt.

  • Language:

    "Skank," "sucks," "pissed."

  • Consumerism:

    The teens go to a coffee shop.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Rue's friend drinks at a college party; Rue tells her, "Let's go, lush."
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Kin: The Good Neighbors, Book One

Parents need to know this is for author Holly Black's teen fans, not young Spiderwick devotees. The female faeries are sexualized and idealized in the graphic novel's illustrations. Except for the wings, the faeries could moonlight as models with their tiny waists, ample bosoms, sharp cheek bones, long legs, and penchant for skimpy clothes. The novel features illustrations of nude women (angled so chests/private areas are not shown); violence (a daughter wonders if her father killed her mother); a faerie who is forced into sexual slavery; and drinking at a college party. Teens break into abandoned buildings (sometimes climbing and rappelling) and photograph themselves in masks.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about Rue's "no worries" approach to life. Do teens identify with this strategy? Families can also talk about the depiction of female faeries: Do teens agree that being so thin is attractive? Is this a realistic expectation for even supernatural girls and women to look?
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