When it comes to The Handmaid’s Tale TV show, it’s certainly not for kids. However, the novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood, which the series is based on, is on the reading list for junior high and high schools. Is the book suitable for children that young if the series isn’t?
It’s easy to equate books and shows to each other and lump them together when it comes to age ratings. This has happened with Wicked, with many parents quickly going out to buy their children the book after they enjoyed the movie, only to find that the novel is definitely not for children.
The Handmaid’s Tale is similar to that, but works the opposite way. The book is nowhere near as graphic as the TV series.
The Handmaid’s Tale book isn’t told as an active story
A lot of books will actively use first-person POV or third-person POV. They show us the events that are taking place, but that’s not the case with The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. The novel is told via tape recordings used in a conference about the time period of Gilead.
In the book, Gilead has fallen. It’s years after the atrocities, and lecturers have found these tapes that a Handmaid was able to make in secret. Those tapes were hidden, and they are a look at what the world was.
While there are some graphic mentions of events, such as the “ritual” that is done in an attempt to make a Handmaid pregnant, nothing is viscerally described or shown throughout the novel. We get a sense of the fear and the oppression and we know that there is a rebel force working away, but we don’t get the violence that the TV show is known for.
This is an important book for teenagers to read
In a lot of schools in Canada, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is part of the high school reading curriculum, usually around Grade 10. In the United States, it can be in the junior high or high school reading curriculum, depending on the location. However, it’s important to note that this is also on the “Banned Books” list in various parts of the world, including parts of the United States. I always say if a book is banned, then it’s important to read. There is something someone wants us to miss — and it’s got nothing to do with “scary” or “inappropriate” content.
The novel is an important one for teenagers to read. It shares a little of how Gilead was created, and it gives a first person POV of the atrocities. However, it is also told with elements of hearsay, as Offred (who isn’t given a name in the book) can only share of her experiences and of some of the things she heard from others. The novel reads more like a lecture in the sense that there isn't the traditional form of storytelling, helping to keep things more educational while also fictionally intriguing.
This is one of those books that offers a start into the world of dystopian futures, and it’s sure to lead to reading books like George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. It’s a story of oppression and what can happen if far right (or even far left) ideologies are allowed to take over and the dangers of taking rights away from people.
So yes, I’d say The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is suitable for teenagers, especially older teenagers. As for the TV show, I still stand by the TV-MA rating.