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Lips Touch Three Times (by Laini Taylor)

common sense media says

Wildly inventive, wonderful fairy tales for mature teens.


parents & educators say
  • 40% say sexual content is an issue
  • 40% say there are positive messages

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that, like all fairy tales, these three tales have a dark side. The third and longest story is the darkest and most adult, with a land of demons who can take over human bodies and make them have (barley described) sex. The first two stories involve older teens coming of age and having first romances. There are goblins, curses, demons, and danger throughout but it's not to the point of feeling like a horror novel. Also of note: One of the stories has characters who visit Hell, and a demon who can visit above. The author's Afterward discusses her views of Hell and some of the world religion stories she was inspired by.

Educational value: Not applicable.
Positive messages: Unlike more traditional fairytales with messages of abandonment or loss, these tales are suffused more with an air of wonder, and risk. The young women, and in the third story Hatchling that includes both the mother and the daughter at various times, are supported and inspired by the upbringing they have had. The women in their lives have passed on stories of what might happen; but these girls are independent and wise enough to know they must make their own choices.
Positive role models: Features strong, wise, and brave females, although they do not all choose to give up love for safety.
Violence: Some fairy tale type violence; goblins who steal souls, a demon who trades adult lives for those of babies. In one story, a girl is cursed -- if she speaks she will kill all those who hear; in another a race of demons have the ability to borrow human bodies and enjoy having sex from within them. In that world, children are kept as pets, cats are fed to monsters as bridge tolls, and two human pets are forced to have sex while "overtaken" and conceive a child. These sex acts are not described in any detail and are viewed as depraved by the humans.
Sex: Not applicable.
Language: Infrequent or single  use of "hell," "damn," "bastard," "ass," and "bitch."
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: The only story set in modern times has a teenage girl who smokes cigarettes and drinks wine at a picnic.

More on Lips Touch Three Times

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
  • Families can talk about the universality of fairy tales and folk tales. Are their lessons relevant today?

  • One of the stories has characters who visit Hell, and a demon who can visit above. The author has a note afterward that discusses her views of Hell and some of the world religion stories she was inspired by. How do they inform her stories?

  • There is some danger that comes with these three kisses. Do the three heroines make the right choices?

What's the story?

What's the story?

In each of three brand-new fairy tales, a young woman comes of age and discovers a first love while also uncovering secrets about herself. The first is contemporary, and a 16-year-old hears ghosts and is pursued by beautiful goblins despite her grandmother's warnings. The second is set in colonial India where a girl is cursed at birth and like so many fairy tale heroines, her first kiss might kill her or her beloved. A strong matriarchal figure and her brave beloved help her outwit her curse. In the final and longest tale, high fantasy creates a world of demons who keep children as pets, inhabit human bodies for the vicarious thrill of sex, and remain completely hidden from the modern world. But one of those human pets, Mab, escapes to save her own daughter, Esme, and creates a new fairy tale life. The demon who helped her longs for his lost humanity, and finds a way to use Esme to also restore a soul to his beloved queen.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

Each of these three fantastically imagined tales could stand as the quintessential fairy tale. Each heroine is modern enough to make up her own mind about love, despite inherent dangers. Each is helped by a distinctively wise older woman, and handsome, honorable, and good men are also cast. Delightfully creepy goblins and monsters and not a few demons also come to life:  Like all fairy tales, there is some danger mixed in with the beauty. 

The lush language is as delicious as a peach, with phrases so beautiful you could almost believe that Laini Taylor sold her soul for the magic ability  to craft them. A beautiful book design with rich endpapers and several pages of black, white, and red illustrations for each story depict the worlds within. Readers of fairy tales and fantasy both will love this book.

Book themes & details

Book Details
Author: Laini Taylor
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine
Publication date: October 1, 2009
Number of pages: 265
Hardcover price: $17.99
Read Aloud: 15
Read Alone: 15

This review was written by Debra Bogart
 
 

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What parents & educators say

14
Based on 5 parent & educator reviews:
  • 40% say sexual content is an issue
  • 40% say there are positive messages

Most useful reviews by all members

vampiregrl
teen, 15 years old
 
its ok i guess
i wouldn't reconmend this for my little sister but it was a good book for teenagers can't wait to read it again its really addictive

tanishka
parent of 7 year old
 
love it

Linsey
teen, 16 years old
 
i hate it....

book addict
parent of 8 year old
 
For mature teens only. 16+..
Blatant objectifying of young women. Concerned about this for teens under 16.

lemuel27
parent of 17 year old
 
girl on a ghost
love it...its a fairytale in its for a child and everyone....

1skyblue
parent of 18 year old
 
it is appsulutly not that bad at allit"s a realy good book or if it"s a movie

 
I liked all three stories. I thought the first one was too much of a cliffhanger, and I think it would have been better if it had been a whole book instead of a short story.

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ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
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