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Book #56 Hosted by Nancy
Twilight is told by 17-year-old Bella Swan, who moves from Phoenix to the small town of Forks, Washington, to live with her dad for the remainder of high school. There, she meets Edward Cullen and his family, who possess an other-worldly and irresistible beauty and grace to which Bella is drawn. Twilight is the tale of Bella and Edward's burgeoning relationship, brimming with standard teenage drama alongside the unexpected, because, after all, Edward and his family are vampires. These undead friends have chosen to deny their urge to drink human blood, instead slaking their thirst with the blood of animals. Bella soon finds out, however, that not all vampires in her life are constrained by such scruples. ~The Book Review
Pros
- Highly entertaining, fast-paced story of romance and suspense
- Relatively clean for a teenage vampire love story
- The concept of good vampires is unusual and intriguing
Cons
- The writing can be clunky at times
- Edward's perfection can be over-the-top, even for a fictitious super-human
- At times, Edward and Bella's relationship can seem more like that of a father and daughter
About the Author
Stephenie Meyer's life changed dramatically on June 2, 2003. The stay-at-home mother of three young sons woke up from a dream featuring seemingly real characters that she could not get out of her head.
Three months later she finished her first novel, Twilight. With encouragement from her older sister (the only other person who knew she had written a book), Meyer submitted her manuscript to various literary agencies. Twilight was picked out of a slush pile at Writer's House and eventually made its way to the publishing company Little, Brown where everyone fell immediately in love with the gripping, star-crossed lovers.
Twilight was one of 2005's most talked about novels and within weeks of its release the book debuted at #5 on The New York Times bestseller list.
Stephenie lives in Arizona with her husband and three sons. ~authors website
7 comments:
I've read it and am working on New Moon. I like the book for the audience it was written for - pre-teens and teens. You can think of it as a book where the dangers and love between the two can be taken at different levels based on the readers life experiences. Young teens read this book and it is clean of the graphic sex and violence of an adult book.
It is no secret that I did not like the book at all. The writing is average and why bother with a plot if you can jam in a boat load of characters who can see the future, read other people's minds and have other super powers.
However, most of all I hated the book because it completely creeped me out. Edward Cullen is about 100 years old, even if he doesn't look like it, and Bella is only 17. If that wasn't enough he carries her around and sings her lullabies. And as if that kind of Sugar Daddy isn't creepy enough, he watches her sleep without her knowledge.
The book troubles me in another respect, especially because it is targeted at teens. This is once again a story romanticizing the "bad boy" - charming, handsome, controlling and dangerous, who stops himself from hurting his lady-love by purely exercising self-control. No wonder Rhiannas of today keep going out with Chris Browns. Either the self-control or the love eventually falls by the wayside and the girl gets hurt. Why do we keep glorifying young women making bad choices?
I am told book3 in the series is really good. I doubt I am going to get that far.
I actually saw the movie first before we decided to read the book. The premise of the story is intriguing, though I don't get the whole vampire mania. At this point I'm almost done with the 3rd book but they could have been condensed into one as it drags on and is a bit monotonous. Luckily I'm listening to the books on tape as I drive to work!
It's amazing to see the number of fan sites out there, since I don't have a daughter to hear about this hype.
All in all I still liked the book for the entertaining aspect of it. Hey something had to replace the Harry Potter series!
I too saw the first movie before having read the first book. I can understand why young pre-teens and teens like the book - it's total fantasy. I did appreciate that there was nothing sexually explicit - plenty of allusions to desire, but nothing really tawdry. Stephanie Meyer is not a great literary writer - but she has struck a nerve with the same preteen/teen set that loved Harry Potter. I try to read all of the books that my kids read, so I know what's going on, and see what they are drawn to. I love the conversations that spring up when we are reading the same book independently.
I continued reading the series - all four books. I think the story line had drug on too long by book three - she could have wrapped things up in different ways by the end of it. What I find interesting is that it isn't just girls who are reading the book (they may be drooling over the posters, etc.)but guys are reading them too.
Sorry Alien Mama, I just think these books were intended as a break from reality - nothing more than that, and if kids are drawn to read books, I am all for them reading the series. As parents, we can and hopefully do impart our views on what we find to be weird or concerning, and that sharing can then become a springboard into deeper discussions with our kids. Almost any book (classic or contemporary) is going to have certains aspects of creepiness, idealization of questionable characters, violence, sexual innuendo, tragedy,etc.
I'll be very curious to see what the next "Harry Potter" or "Twilight" will be about....
Please do not compare it to the Harry Potter series :) I love those books! Twilight is also a love story but is it Pride and Prejudice?
I have nothing against creepy characters - Lovely Bones was a really good book, however disturbing. I also have nothing against an old man romancing a young girl - Lolita is a good book too! I also have nothing against trashy drivel as long as it is entertaining - Da Vinci Code was enjoyable enough.
An obsessive love story between a pathetic damsel-in-distress and a mature controlling man could make for interesting reading, if the relationship and its complexities were explored, the characters had more dimension than a piece of paper and the writing wasn't so repetitive and boring. She dreamt this up and wrote it in 3 months - it shows!
I don't buy that a book aimed at young audience needs to be dumbed-down. Judy Blume puts more complexity into her books than this. I am still glad I read it because if my girls get to it, I will be prepared.
Oh Alien Mama, I would never suggest that Twilight was ever comparable to Pride and Prejudice, but I do submit that it is being read for entertainment, and I see nothing wrong with that. If this book strikes a chord for some kids who have never been readers and it inspires them to try other books, what harm is there in reading for enjoyment? I've read all of the books you've mentioned and enjoyed them for what they were.
Lolita was all about exploitation of young girls ..... it WAS better written, without question. The subject matter was still centered around a pedophile's desires to realize his fantasies with little girls - no matter how well it was written. Creepy? Absolutely - yet others considered it greatly written erotica.
Perhaps it is my outlook that taints my perspective, but I can usually find something worthwhile about almost any book I've read - even if I didn't enjoy the book! Even a bad book can get me thinking and inspire me to either move on to another better book, or to consider what I would have written differently, or question what it was that piqued my curiosity enough to buy it or check it out in the first place.
Anyway, should make for interesting discussions tonight!! See you then!
NPR's pop-culture blog has started a review of Twilight and I found it interesting, esp the back and forth in the comments area, so I thought I'd share.
I will if you will Book Club
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