Quo Vadis
Recommended. Age: 18+. A Catholic review of this book for parents.
Our review
This is the great novel of the early Church. Vinicius begins by wanting to own Lygia and ends by loving Christ, and the martyrs meet death with a peace Rome cannot explain. The reservation is content. Nero's court is shown in its filth, with drunken orgies, naked revels and a brief report that Nero publicly married a man. The arena scenes are brutal.
For parents
For adults, and for mature older teens only with a parent's leave. Good Books for Catholic Kids says 16 and up. Lumen sets Adults because the book reports Nero's mock marriage to a man, shown as madness. Not a read-aloud. Ask how Vinicius's love changes once he meets Christians, and what Chilo's last-hour repentance says about mercy.