My 14 year old wants to read Stephen King books.  I don't read this genre at all so I'm wondering if you've come across students this age who do enjoy his books.  Would you let your own 14 year old son read books written by King?

I started reading Stephen King when I was 12; that was back when his first book had just been released.  I allowed my boys to read his books as soon as they expressed an interest, I believe they were all in their early teens when they decided to give him a try. Of course, what I allowed my boys to read and what you are comfortable with may be miles apart, so it might be a good idea for you to ask which book he's interested in and do a little checking to see if the subject matter is something you are ok with.

My 13 y/o boy is reading all of Stephen King's old stuff and is fine with it.  I read it all when I was in high school.  my problem with the current mystery/horror/thriller books is the amount of  smut needlessly thrown in.  Any suggestions?

Darren Shan has written 2 series, Cirque du Freak and The Demonata. Both are YA, so you don't have to worry about unwanted or graphic sexual situations.  Don't let the YA fool you tough; the last couple of books in the Cirque du Freak series are incredibly intense.  BTW, if you and/or your son had the misfortune of seeing the movie, rest assured the books have little more than a passing relation to the books.  The movie was played more for humor, inserted a character or two not in the books, while leaving out a pivotal character from the series.  I was incredibly disappointed in the movie, as the series is one of my all-time favorites. You absolutely need to read the Cirque du Freak in order. The Demonata is better in order, but not completely necessary to follow the story.

I really liked Stephen King's "The Eyes of the Dragon" when I was in high school.  It's not his typical style - no horror/violence, it's more of an adventure story.  Really great, intricate plot.

My son read these books in the 6th grade and absolutley loved them.  My opinion, it depends on the child.  Seth knew these books were fantasy and didn't take the violence in them seriously.  He just enjoyed the fast movement of the theme and characters and plot.

The Eyes of the Dragon is excellent, however, I would recommend reading the first few chapters on your own first as I believe there is a bit of sexual stuff in the beginning. I summarized the story for my daughter (who is 8) because I really enjoyed it and knew she would, too...I just didn't read the whole thing to her because it was much too 'mature'.

I haven't read the entire series (only the first book), but the Dark Tower series would probably be good for teens, based upon what I recall of the first book. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I read Stephen King at 14--he's gotten scarier with age.  Don't let him start with Cujo or Gerald's game would be my advice.  Carrie, Salem's Lot, and The Stand are all good.  Eyes of the Dragon is probably one of the tamer books(I believe it was written with children in mind. 

I developed my love of reading by reading Stephen King in HS. Also read some really smutty romance. It didn't warp me and I became an avid reader. I still thank my mom for not making an issue out of it - I think I would have been turned off reading if she didn't let me pick or tried to suggest something else.

My son chose to do his author evaluation project  on Steven King when he was in 10th grade a 15.  He had read some King already and read at least 3 books more for that project.  He had to negotiate as King was not on the suggested list and I think he was way harder than most of the author that were.  My folks always let us read what ever we wanted and I have done the same with my kids.  He will decide if he likes it or not - better that he is reading what he wants than you having to push him to read.

I don't think Stephen King is any worse than what they see on TV or online.  Even the violence of commercials is as bad or worse than what they'll find in Stephen King. As well, there are authors with more content issues than Stephen King.  I'm retired now, but I used to be a school librarian in the '90s. The English dept of my Jr-Sr high school wanted me to keep all Stephen King behind the circulation desk to keep it away from 6th and 7th graders.  I did as they asked but felt it was a wasted effort as there were many other books on the shelves they should be concerned with, such as VC Andrews, Anne Rice, just to name a couple.  And the kids got an older student to check King out for them.  I don't think people should worry about books; I think television should be far more of a concern.  Terry