Goodreads is genuinely useful for building a reading life—the tracking, challenges, and recommendation engine actually work. For teens and adults, it's a solid tool that can meaningfully increase how much you read.

The problem is it's built for adults, full stop. There's no parental controls, no content filtering, no way to hide explicit book covers or descriptions. A 10-year-old searching for their next fantasy novel will also see erotic romance covers and reviews peppered with F-bombs. Parents have been requesting a kids version for years; it doesn't exist.

For high schoolers who are already reading YA and adult books? Go for it. For younger kids? You'd need to supervise closely or wait a few years. The app itself is well-designed and not manipulative—it's just unapologetically aimed at an adult audience that reads everything.