Twilight (Twilight, Book 1)

Okay, here is a secret confession from me to you - I'm loving the Twilight series! But I do have reasons, real and actual reasons! One may think it is strange for an adult, an adult who is a reader, an adult who reads `serious' literature, an adult who teaches `serious' literature nonetheless, to love these books about an obsessive teen girl who falls in love with a moody, veggie vampire. But I do...and here is why.
I'll admit, when I began reading the first book, while I was intrigued with the concept (I love sci-fi) and interested in the girl's character (I work with teens) the writing itself was...okay here it comes...snoozeville and more than a bit camp! I skipped many paragraphs, just skimmed the top so I'd still know what was happening in the book. The conclusion I came to about what was happening in the book was this - this girl needs to get a life!!! But by then I was mildly interested in how this human/vamp relationship would turn out so I read the next book...strange, I missed Edward a bit and was concerned about Bella's feelings for Jacob. You see what just happened, yes, that is exactly what happened, the characters started becoming real to me. By the time I was into the third book, I was half in love with Edward myself and mentally giving Bella advice. Not that I should be giving advice in the love department by any means.
Then...I stopped at the end of the third book...thinking it was over! And what is more, I was sad about it! Anyway, a little time passed and I kinda forgot about it. I had this thing where I lost my job, found a new job, had to move, blah, blah, blah. But then came a day when I discovered other `Twilighters'...don't you just love the lingo! And yes, they were my high school students...but get this - they were the bright ones. Yes, we teachers do separate into categories...smart yet butt-kissing, smart and pretty but knows it, smart and capable and a truly nice person (that is a fun discovery and happens more often than one might think), lots of potential and will hopefully realize it one day, not-so smart but sweet and kind (worth so much in this cynical world), pretty and doesn't want to explore how much more he/she could become, and last but certainly not least, a big, huge pain in the butt! The latter actually falls under two categories - the pains that are just fluffy underneath it all and like the James Dean of olden times just want to be understood and the pains that sadly, most likely will bury their true selves too deep to be delved. Luckily the very last kind is rare. But I digress - big time. Back to...oh yes my fellow Twilighters.
So these were smart girls (yes girls, did you really think guys would read this stuff?) and while we were chatting it up about the Bella, Edward, Jacob love triangle and our favorite character, Alice, and my secret favorite character, Rosalie, I discovered that there was a fourth book! Joy of joys, I was excited! So do you know what I did, yes I rushed out to make my purchase and then...here it comes...went back and really read, word for word this time, the first three again and then finally the fourth. True, the writer didn't go where I wanted her to go - but hey it wasn't my baby. I was reading these books while I should've been analyzing and breaking down Hamlet into bite-sized pieces for my Seniors. I ignored my house for a week and stayed up late in bed absorbing the vampire family's story. The dishes piled high, the garbage attracted flies and the dogs began to starve...no not really, well maybe a little. Then, too soon, I was done, and again I was sad that my journey into Vamptown had ended.
I discovered another teacher who read the first book, discussion time. Whoa - just what I expected from another adult though I was hoping for a different reaction so that we could be co-conspirators in the world of teen vampire books. She ripped it apart and then some. I saw her point, the same opinions I actually had. But here was the difference - despite my `formal review of such matters', I still loved the books! And now...here is why. Didn't I start to say this much earlier?
Anyway - I love it because it isn't PC! I am a little sick of PC! Yes, the girl is obsessed - what teen girl isn't?!? It is the nature of the beast. And I love it! Yes, the boy is sorta sick, with watching her sleep and all, and yes the fact the he is beautiful is spelled out for the reader clearly, in every other sentence. But come on, what girl hasn't dreamed of a guy like this - admit it ladies - or don't, but it is still true and you know it! And that is the point - beyond all the supernatural, (which I happen to like), beyond the purple prose (which I don't like so much), beyond the lengthy explanations, is truth. This story uncovers and discards layers of correctness that so many people like to heap on everything. This is the secret life of a girl, her real thoughts and her real life.
Too often, writers fall into the trap of creating who they want a person to be - noble, independent, a tad of self-doubt just for good measure - falling at just the right time and coming to self-realizations at the precise correct moment in the novel. This story doesn't do that - it winds and loops and sometimes finds its way back to exactly the emotional place where it began and the reader wonders `Where is the growth?!?'. It is exactly where it is most often in the life of a teenage girl, hidden under heaps of the external. Yes, the book can go on and on without really anything happening at all, but that is exactly what happens in real life. We go on and try to make sense and add value of all this nothingness which to the individual is actually something. Does that make sense? If not, the book isn't for you. But I get it! And get this...a fifth book is coming out! I just hope it comes out during the summer so I don't ignore precious Bronte.

I resisted reading this book for a long time. I've never been into vampire books and didn't think I would like it. Finally, I gave into the hype and decided to give it a try. I absolutely loved it! Edward and Bella are two of the most fascinating characters I've ever read. Bella faces vampires without hesitation, yet is terrified to go to school dance because of her clumsiness. Edward is a thoughtful, caring boyfriend who is constantly fighting the urge to drink his girlfriend's blood. Somehow Meyer manages to make this fantastic story seem real. It has moments of both humor and terror. But, the thing that makes it great is the relationship between Bella and Edward. They both accept and love the other completely.

Just when you think all hope is gone, Stephanie Meyers manages to come up with a wonderfully intriguing resolution. Easily one of the best books I have ever read. All 4 books are excellent. I could not put them down.

Since I am not a teenaged girl, I was cynical about reading this novel. But I got caught up in it & ended up being unable to put it down. The setting in a small town in nearly sunless forest of Washington's Olympic Peninsula is evocative and helps sustain the tense, morose tone. The author creates a compelling world of her own, sustained by an ominous tone similar to that of a novel she mentions--Wuthering Heights. She borrows perhaps to heavily from that novel, as well as Romeo & Juliet, Frankenstein, & a number of other literary works loved by romantics. The heroine is a Jane Austen fan; this novel lacks Austen's restraint, wit, and humor. I wanted at least one smart aleck in the novel. The literary nods are shallow, and seem to be rip offs rather than allusions. Nonetheless on its own terms, this novel absolutely succeeds in depicting a powerful first love. The dialogue between the lovers goes on too long; the pace picks up when they have to interact with others, particularly the vampire's "family" of other vampires, including a philanthropic physician and a psychic. The heroine is likable; she is a clutz unable to understand why she appeals to the boys around her. The hero is similarly likable; he is a sentimental musician with bronze hair. Why this character ends up looking like a drag queen or Ziggy Stardust in the stills from the movie is still a puzzle to me.

I loved this book. It was a little slow as the relationships were built, but well worth it. I can't wait to read the next book.