Parents' Guide to Scott Pilgrim Series

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Common Sense Media Review

By Teen Librarian , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 13+

Slacker turns hero for his gal in quirky graphic novels.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 13+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 11+

Based on 2 parent reviews

age 12+

Based on 29 kid reviews

Kids say that the series is a vibrant mix of humor, action, and relatable themes about relationships, appealing mainly to older teens and adults due to its mild profanity, sexual references, and cartoonish violence. Many reviewers emphasize that while it contains some mature content, its messages about personal growth and responsibility make it a worthwhile read for those mature enough to handle it, with some recommending it for ages 12 and up.

  • mature themes
  • violence present
  • strong character messages
  • humor and action
  • good for teens
Summarized with AI

What's the Story?

Scott Pilgrim is just your average 23-year-old living in Canada. He hangs out with his high-school girlfriend, Knives, and plays in the band Sex Bob-Omb with his friends. Everything's perfect for Scott ... until the day he sees Ramona Flowers delivering packages for Amazon.ca. Scott dumps Knives to be with Ramona, but then learns about Ramona's exes -- evil exes, that is. Ramona's seven evil exes must be defeated by Scott so he can stay with Ramona. Soon, Scott is fighting twins, vegan power, and ninjas; eventually, even Knives Chau and her dad put themselves into the ring with Scott. Will Scott defeat all the exes or will he lose Ramona forever? Who is the Gideon that Ramona keeps referring to? And will Scott's band ever get to play a real show?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 2 ):
Kids say ( 29 ):

The SCOTT PILGRIM SERIES is very funny, insightful, and whimsical. The story will draw readers in and as the series progresses, Scott gets easier to root for and Ramona gets more mysterious.

The illustrations, done in black and white to show off the action to greatest effect, are more derivative of Manga than traditional comic book-style drawings. They show characters' expressions beautifully even with very minimal lines. And when Scott starts fighting the evil exes, the drawings portray the magnitude of the situations, which often play out like action sequences in video games -- so of course this series also gets the video game treatment.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about relationships and how they change people. Have you ever liked anyone so much that you'd be willing to change who you were for them? Is it always change for the better?

  • Ramona uses subspace portals to travel long distances in order to deliver goods for her job at Amazon.ca. Where would you travel if you could use subspace portals? How would you use them on a daily basis?

  • For fans of Michael Cera as well as this book series, do you think he's the right guy to play Scott? Who would you imagine? What about Ramona?

Book Details

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