Sense and Sensibility
Recommended. Age: 14+. A Catholic review of this book for parents.
Our review
Two sisters lose their home when their father dies. Elinor is calm and careful, and Marianne follows her feelings wherever they lead. Both have their hearts hurt. Marianne learns that feelings need good sense to guide them. This is a story about governing the heart. Elinor keeps her word and bears sorrow quietly. Marianne gives her heart to a charming man who turns out to be a seducer. The book warns against trusting charm before character. Catholic reviewers recommend all of Austen for teenage girls. A seduction and two births outside marriage are told at second hand.
For parents
Read aloud from about thirteen. Independent reading from fourteen or fifteen. Common Sense Media says 14+, which matches the Catholic list's age 14 and up. Know before you hand it over: Colonel Brandon tells how his ward was seduced by Willoughby and left pregnant, and how her mother was unfaithful to her husband. Nothing is described. Ask: why does Elinor keep Lucy's secret even though it hurts her? What does Marianne get wrong about Willoughby, and what could she have noticed? Is Elinor cold, or is she strong? Talk about the virtue of temperance in feelings, about keeping a promise at a cost, and about why chastity protects the people Willoughby's selfishness destroyed.