• Is it age appropriate?

  About our ratings

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  Not age appropriate for kids under 15, age appropriate for kids over 16; suggested age 16.

• Is it any good?

  5.0

• Common Sense says

  Poetic, disturbing story of lonely teen skater.

Why We Rated This for Ages 16 and Up

What to watch out for

• Messages:

  Following an accidental death, the teen boy responsible struggles with guilt and not being caught; skater kids are mildly disrespectful to a teacher and a detective; high school kids have (protected) sex; parents are distracted.
• Violence:

  The story centers on an accidental murder that's shown near the end in graphic images (a boy slams a security guard running after a train with his skateboard, the man falls under an oncoming train on parallel tracks and is cut in half, and his top half crawls toward the boy). At another point, the boy sees a photo of the man's legs and leaves the room to throw up. The boy hides his bloody shirt.
• Sex:

  Teen boys discuss sex: A girlfriend is a virgin and pressures a boy to "do it," a boy offers a "hottie" as collateral when he borrows someone's skateboard, and the teens talk about buying "more condoms" after their first sexual activity. The single actual sex scene is very blurry and close up; a girl's naked torso is visible (but blurry). You also see her back as she puts on her bra, and her thong is visible from the back as she stands.
• Language:

  A couple of uses of "f--k," plus "s--t" and derogatory uses of "fag" and "fat lard."
• Consumerism:

  Mentions of Rite Aid and Frappuccinos. Band T-shirts.
• Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

  Boys discuss beer and carry bottles as they walk.

What Parents Need to Know

About Paranoid Park

Families Can Talk About