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The Twilight Saga #1-4
The Twilight Saga
Stephenie Meyer holds you spellbound with her incredible New York Times bestselling Twilight Saga. Experience the entire series on audio with narrator Ilyana Kadushin and prepare to be amazed by the more than 60 hours of listening pleasure.
Twilight (11 CDs):
When Isabella Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks, Washington, and meets the mysterious, alluring Edward Cullen, her life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. With his porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice, and supernatural gifts, Edward is both irresistible and impenetrable. Up until now, he has managed to keep his true identity hidden, but Bella is determined to uncover his dark secret.
New Moon (12 CDs):
For Bella Swan, there is one thing more important than life Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is even more dangerous than Bella ever could have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of one evil vampire, but now, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realize their troubles may be just beginning.
Eclipse (13 CDs):
As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob—knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf.
Breaking Dawn (14 CDs):
Twilight tempted the imagination. New Moon made readers thirsty for more. Eclipse turned the saga into a worldwide phenomenon. And now, the story that everyone has been waiting for....
Breaking Dawn, the final installment in the #1 bestselling Twilight Saga, will take your breath away.
Twilight (11 CDs):
When Isabella Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks, Washington, and meets the mysterious, alluring Edward Cullen, her life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. With his porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice, and supernatural gifts, Edward is both irresistible and impenetrable. Up until now, he has managed to keep his true identity hidden, but Bella is determined to uncover his dark secret.
New Moon (12 CDs):
For Bella Swan, there is one thing more important than life Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is even more dangerous than Bella ever could have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of one evil vampire, but now, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realize their troubles may be just beginning.
Eclipse (13 CDs):
As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob—knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf.
Breaking Dawn (14 CDs):
Twilight tempted the imagination. New Moon made readers thirsty for more. Eclipse turned the saga into a worldwide phenomenon. And now, the story that everyone has been waiting for....
Breaking Dawn, the final installment in the #1 bestselling Twilight Saga, will take your breath away.
65 pages, Audio CD
First published January 1, 2005
About the author
Stephenie Meyer
88 books76k followersStephenie Meyer is the author of the bestselling Twilight series, The Host, and The Chemist. 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. Among its many accolades, Twilight was named an "ALA Top Ten Books for Young Adults," an Amazon.com "Best Book of the Decade So Far," and a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year.
Meyer graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English Literature. She lives in Arizona with her husband and three sons.
Meyer graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English Literature. She lives in Arizona with her husband and three sons.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 4,145 reviews
November 25, 2011
What a wonderful story.
November 5, 2011
You see that one little star? It’s there because I can’t give this series a 0 stars, if I could, I would.
So I’m finally reviewing The Twilight Saga. Ugh, honestly I’d rather not because I know this will make me even more angry about these books, but I had to say my opinion on them. So if I sound angry in this review…. It’s probably because I am.
So let’s get started, shall we?
First of all, I’d like to say that yes, I did love these books the first time I read them, 3 years ago, I was kind of a fangirl over them, but then a couple of reviews opened my eyes and when I re-read them I finally realized how bad these books actually are. Not only did Stephenie Mayer copy a bunch of other vampire books, but she also succeeded at making everything she copied 10 times worse.
Also, I don’t know for you guys, but reading these books made me have such bad headaches. I mean the writing. The writing. I don’t know if she didn’t have an editor or something, but I DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW CAN BOOKS THIS BADLY WRITTEN BE PUBLISHED. There are so many grammar and syntactical errors that even for me, who doesn’t have English as my first language, noticed them. Not to mention that the dialogues between the characters were atrocious. You know what also surprises me, though? When I read reviews of people who read tons of books and are really good in English and stuff and they say these books are well written. It baffles me. I don’t know what they read, but it can’t be this Saga if they say it’s well written.
Now let’s talk about what probably is the worse aspect of the Twilight Saga. THE CHARACTERS. Bella Swan is probably the character I hate the most of all the books I read. I hate her with a fury passion. She’s just a mary-sue…. or no, rather it’s just Stephenie Mayer who represented herself as Bella. Bella has absolutely no personality whatsoever AND she’s an idiot. In four books I hardly learned anything about her except what she likes to eat for breakfast and that she “was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with [Edward Cullen]. Oh God, kill me now. And what’s up with all these people loving her like she’s the most amazing human on earth. Everyone loves her; everyone wants to be her friend. BUT WHY? There’s nothing appealing about her at. She’s boring, stupid, arrogant, selfish and the only thing she does is complain ALL THE FUCKING TIME. It’s the only thing she’s good at. “Oh no it’s raining, I hate rain, my life sucks”, “Oh no Edward didn’t look at me today”, “OH NOOO, WHY IS EVERYONE IN LOVE WITH ME? MY LIFE IS SOOO HARD”. Ugh, shut up.
Edward. Ok, I could understand why some people love him so much, but when you really look at him, he’s nothing else than a creepy stalker. And before thinking that you want a boyfriend like him think about this: Would you like a boyfriend that watches you while you sleep, that breaks something in you car so you can’t go see your guy friend, that controls your every movement, won’t let you out of his sight and insults you. NO I DON’T THINK SO.
So Edward and Bella’s relationship was just a big joke for me. First of all I don’t even understand why he’d fall in love with a silly little girl like her, who doesn’t have anything interesting about her.
And last but not least, I’d like to mention some of the things these books teach people. 1. How important it is to have a boyfriend, how you CAN’T live without having a boyfriend. Remember in New Moon when Edward left Bella? And then Mayer decided to skip four (I believe it was four, I’m not quite sure) whole months of Bella’s life. What does that tell you? That when your boyfriend leaves you, you don’t have a life anymore. So girls, make sure you have a boyfriend, ok? Cause otherwise, 2. JUST KILL YOURSELF. Now remember when that dumb girl decided to jump off a cliff? Yeah? Wow, what a great message for teens, right? 3. P.E.D.O.P.H.I.L.I.A. I don’t care if Edward looks like a 17-year-old boy, BECAUSE MENTALLY HE’S STILL A 107 YEAR OLD MAN. If he weren’t a vampire he’d be a 107-year-old man in love with a 17-year-old teenage girl. And I don’t think anyone would be interested in reading such a book, I’m sure of it. Also I won’t even talk of Jacob, who in Breaking Dawn, imprints Bella and Edward girl who was born not even 10 minutes ago. Now I won’t go in details of the other messages that these books contain but just to name a few: abuse, anti-feminism, teenage pregnancy, selfishness, don’t get to attached to your friends cause they’re just a backup group of people who you don’t really like, you stand in the way of your mom’s and boyfriend happiness, so go away, if your boyfriend is mean to you, it doesn’t matter, just love him even more, if you fall in love with someone then leave your family for them, AND SO ON.
You know, I find it quite funny when I see some people say “But you don’t have to analyze it too much, it’s just for fun”. No it’s not. I’m not going to pretend that these messages aren’t there, that the characters, the writing and everything else aren’t bad. If you want to do that then go ahead, but it’s still there.
Now I’m gonna finish this here because the more a write the more anger I have for Twilight.
So I’m finally reviewing The Twilight Saga. Ugh, honestly I’d rather not because I know this will make me even more angry about these books, but I had to say my opinion on them. So if I sound angry in this review…. It’s probably because I am.
So let’s get started, shall we?
First of all, I’d like to say that yes, I did love these books the first time I read them, 3 years ago, I was kind of a fangirl over them, but then a couple of reviews opened my eyes and when I re-read them I finally realized how bad these books actually are. Not only did Stephenie Mayer copy a bunch of other vampire books, but she also succeeded at making everything she copied 10 times worse.
Also, I don’t know for you guys, but reading these books made me have such bad headaches. I mean the writing. The writing. I don’t know if she didn’t have an editor or something, but I DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW CAN BOOKS THIS BADLY WRITTEN BE PUBLISHED. There are so many grammar and syntactical errors that even for me, who doesn’t have English as my first language, noticed them. Not to mention that the dialogues between the characters were atrocious. You know what also surprises me, though? When I read reviews of people who read tons of books and are really good in English and stuff and they say these books are well written. It baffles me. I don’t know what they read, but it can’t be this Saga if they say it’s well written.
Now let’s talk about what probably is the worse aspect of the Twilight Saga. THE CHARACTERS. Bella Swan is probably the character I hate the most of all the books I read. I hate her with a fury passion. She’s just a mary-sue…. or no, rather it’s just Stephenie Mayer who represented herself as Bella. Bella has absolutely no personality whatsoever AND she’s an idiot. In four books I hardly learned anything about her except what she likes to eat for breakfast and that she “was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with [Edward Cullen]. Oh God, kill me now. And what’s up with all these people loving her like she’s the most amazing human on earth. Everyone loves her; everyone wants to be her friend. BUT WHY? There’s nothing appealing about her at. She’s boring, stupid, arrogant, selfish and the only thing she does is complain ALL THE FUCKING TIME. It’s the only thing she’s good at. “Oh no it’s raining, I hate rain, my life sucks”, “Oh no Edward didn’t look at me today”, “OH NOOO, WHY IS EVERYONE IN LOVE WITH ME? MY LIFE IS SOOO HARD”. Ugh, shut up.
Edward. Ok, I could understand why some people love him so much, but when you really look at him, he’s nothing else than a creepy stalker. And before thinking that you want a boyfriend like him think about this: Would you like a boyfriend that watches you while you sleep, that breaks something in you car so you can’t go see your guy friend, that controls your every movement, won’t let you out of his sight and insults you. NO I DON’T THINK SO.
So Edward and Bella’s relationship was just a big joke for me. First of all I don’t even understand why he’d fall in love with a silly little girl like her, who doesn’t have anything interesting about her.
And last but not least, I’d like to mention some of the things these books teach people. 1. How important it is to have a boyfriend, how you CAN’T live without having a boyfriend. Remember in New Moon when Edward left Bella? And then Mayer decided to skip four (I believe it was four, I’m not quite sure) whole months of Bella’s life. What does that tell you? That when your boyfriend leaves you, you don’t have a life anymore. So girls, make sure you have a boyfriend, ok? Cause otherwise, 2. JUST KILL YOURSELF. Now remember when that dumb girl decided to jump off a cliff? Yeah? Wow, what a great message for teens, right? 3. P.E.D.O.P.H.I.L.I.A. I don’t care if Edward looks like a 17-year-old boy, BECAUSE MENTALLY HE’S STILL A 107 YEAR OLD MAN. If he weren’t a vampire he’d be a 107-year-old man in love with a 17-year-old teenage girl. And I don’t think anyone would be interested in reading such a book, I’m sure of it. Also I won’t even talk of Jacob, who in Breaking Dawn, imprints Bella and Edward girl who was born not even 10 minutes ago. Now I won’t go in details of the other messages that these books contain but just to name a few: abuse, anti-feminism, teenage pregnancy, selfishness, don’t get to attached to your friends cause they’re just a backup group of people who you don’t really like, you stand in the way of your mom’s and boyfriend happiness, so go away, if your boyfriend is mean to you, it doesn’t matter, just love him even more, if you fall in love with someone then leave your family for them, AND SO ON.
You know, I find it quite funny when I see some people say “But you don’t have to analyze it too much, it’s just for fun”. No it’s not. I’m not going to pretend that these messages aren’t there, that the characters, the writing and everything else aren’t bad. If you want to do that then go ahead, but it’s still there.
Now I’m gonna finish this here because the more a write the more anger I have for Twilight.
April 18, 2013
See this review and more on The Moonlight Library!
In Twilight, Bella goes insane when her mother re-marries and ships her off to live with her absent father. In trying to cope with this, Bella imagines a world where she is the centre of attention from every boy in school, especially the hottest, most desirable Edward Cullen. But Edward isn’t just the most desirable guy, no: he’s also a vampire, and sheer coincidence, Bella’s blood sings to him. This should be a problem, because Edward’s supposed to lose control when he comes near a blood singer like his brother Emmett did when he met his: however, Bella’s Edward is so inhumanly perfect that he never hurts her, and even ends up falling in love with her (proof that Bella is insane, because this does not make logical sense to us, the readers, but does to Bella’s poor fragile mind). When Bella realises nothing is really happening with her imagined relationship with some imagined angel-like vampire, she imagines another vampire decides he wants to randomly hunt her just because she’s human (and of course one of the ‘bad’ vampires comes to warn the Cullens of Bella’s danger, because even in Bella’s insanity, random people still care about her). This makes perfect sense in Bella’s mind: she’s never been the centre of attention when living with her mother, and with her father the Chief of Police, he just doesn’t have the time to give her the attention she needs. So she creates the perfect man to love her and protect her and needs her like her parents never wanted, and because she’s never had a boyfriend before, poor lonely soul.
In New Moon, Bella realises her perfect relationship is actually really boring and creates some drama by sending her perfect boyfriend away for her own protection. Or maybe, even in her insanity, she still thinks she’s not worthy so she sabotages her own relationship. She falls into a catatonic state of depression and can only be drawn out of it by the attention of another boy who, coincidentally, is a member of the werewolf pack made to protect humans from vampires. With a suitably heroic new love interest, Bella creates more drama in her insanity by deciding that Edward is going to kill himself over some kind of crossed-wires communication, and it gives her the opportunity to add a lot more drama and an international journey to revive her relationship with Edward. Now that Edward is safe, he tells her she was stupid to believe him when he said he didn’t love her anymore (which of course he does, because in Bella’s mind everyone loves her, even if she doesn’t notice). Now that Bella’s patched up her imaginary conflict with her imaginary lover, she can still create other attention-grabbing conflict by having Jacob still in love with her.
Coming to Eclipse, and Bella’s madness is only deepening. She’s obsessed with herself being the victim, so in some twisted way she imagines that the vampire from the first book’s girlfriend wants her dead, so that for some weird reason Edward would suffer the way the girlfriend vampire has suffered. This is complicated by the fact that Bella is perfect and everyone loves her, especially the vampire lover from the first book and the werewolf boy from the second book. Obviously she can’t have them fighting all the time because that’s OMG DRAMAZ and with the inevitable big fight coming up, she can’t really concentrate on her two boyfriends fighting over her. So in her crazy state of mind, the two boys who hate each other and are sworn enemies make a pact to defend her from the big bad vampire bitch queen – because of course, she’s so unbelievable special.
Breaking Dawn is Bella’s insane attempt at avoiding adulthood while gaining domestic perfection by becoming a wife and mother.
Bella, in her insanity, designs an impossible pregnancy to make her the centre of everyone’s attention. Her mother was never very maternal, so now here’s Bella’s chance to prove to everyone she’d make a better mother than her own mother. And of course she’s insane because apart from the agony of a baby growing to full term in a matter of weeks and breaking her bones and nearly killing her, she doesn’t experience any real motherhood – changing diapers, breastfeeding, teaching baby to talk and walk. But of course Bella seems to get it all in the end: eternally youthful, now immortally gorgeous, disgustingly rich with the most perfect angel-vampire husband and father to a daughter who sleeps at night (unlike her parents) and never makes a fuss or noise and quite frankly hardly needs any parenting at all. It’s Bella’s fantasy of motherhood played out just like she used to when she played with her dolls as a child.
And her reward for being the perfect devoted wife and mother? Immortality. And of course her poor little mind had to make a consideration for Jacob – she couldn’t possibly have Jacob leave her, because he’s her sun or something, and his imprint of the Loch Ness Monster makes him a part of her little cult family forever.
In Twilight, Bella goes insane when her mother re-marries and ships her off to live with her absent father. In trying to cope with this, Bella imagines a world where she is the centre of attention from every boy in school, especially the hottest, most desirable Edward Cullen. But Edward isn’t just the most desirable guy, no: he’s also a vampire, and sheer coincidence, Bella’s blood sings to him. This should be a problem, because Edward’s supposed to lose control when he comes near a blood singer like his brother Emmett did when he met his: however, Bella’s Edward is so inhumanly perfect that he never hurts her, and even ends up falling in love with her (proof that Bella is insane, because this does not make logical sense to us, the readers, but does to Bella’s poor fragile mind). When Bella realises nothing is really happening with her imagined relationship with some imagined angel-like vampire, she imagines another vampire decides he wants to randomly hunt her just because she’s human (and of course one of the ‘bad’ vampires comes to warn the Cullens of Bella’s danger, because even in Bella’s insanity, random people still care about her). This makes perfect sense in Bella’s mind: she’s never been the centre of attention when living with her mother, and with her father the Chief of Police, he just doesn’t have the time to give her the attention she needs. So she creates the perfect man to love her and protect her and needs her like her parents never wanted, and because she’s never had a boyfriend before, poor lonely soul.
In New Moon, Bella realises her perfect relationship is actually really boring and creates some drama by sending her perfect boyfriend away for her own protection. Or maybe, even in her insanity, she still thinks she’s not worthy so she sabotages her own relationship. She falls into a catatonic state of depression and can only be drawn out of it by the attention of another boy who, coincidentally, is a member of the werewolf pack made to protect humans from vampires. With a suitably heroic new love interest, Bella creates more drama in her insanity by deciding that Edward is going to kill himself over some kind of crossed-wires communication, and it gives her the opportunity to add a lot more drama and an international journey to revive her relationship with Edward. Now that Edward is safe, he tells her she was stupid to believe him when he said he didn’t love her anymore (which of course he does, because in Bella’s mind everyone loves her, even if she doesn’t notice). Now that Bella’s patched up her imaginary conflict with her imaginary lover, she can still create other attention-grabbing conflict by having Jacob still in love with her.
Coming to Eclipse, and Bella’s madness is only deepening. She’s obsessed with herself being the victim, so in some twisted way she imagines that the vampire from the first book’s girlfriend wants her dead, so that for some weird reason Edward would suffer the way the girlfriend vampire has suffered. This is complicated by the fact that Bella is perfect and everyone loves her, especially the vampire lover from the first book and the werewolf boy from the second book. Obviously she can’t have them fighting all the time because that’s OMG DRAMAZ and with the inevitable big fight coming up, she can’t really concentrate on her two boyfriends fighting over her. So in her crazy state of mind, the two boys who hate each other and are sworn enemies make a pact to defend her from the big bad vampire bitch queen – because of course, she’s so unbelievable special.
Breaking Dawn is Bella’s insane attempt at avoiding adulthood while gaining domestic perfection by becoming a wife and mother.
Bella, in her insanity, designs an impossible pregnancy to make her the centre of everyone’s attention. Her mother was never very maternal, so now here’s Bella’s chance to prove to everyone she’d make a better mother than her own mother. And of course she’s insane because apart from the agony of a baby growing to full term in a matter of weeks and breaking her bones and nearly killing her, she doesn’t experience any real motherhood – changing diapers, breastfeeding, teaching baby to talk and walk. But of course Bella seems to get it all in the end: eternally youthful, now immortally gorgeous, disgustingly rich with the most perfect angel-vampire husband and father to a daughter who sleeps at night (unlike her parents) and never makes a fuss or noise and quite frankly hardly needs any parenting at all. It’s Bella’s fantasy of motherhood played out just like she used to when she played with her dolls as a child.
And her reward for being the perfect devoted wife and mother? Immortality. And of course her poor little mind had to make a consideration for Jacob – she couldn’t possibly have Jacob leave her, because he’s her sun or something, and his imprint of the Loch Ness Monster makes him a part of her little cult family forever.
March 12, 2015
Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
3.5 Stars
Reviewing The Twilight Saga is a nearly unwinnable battle. If you admit to enjoying it, you run the risk of being branded an idiot. Luckily I have loads of experience with people telling me I'm an idiot, so I'm cool with it.
Let me paint a picture for you and maybe you'll understand how this little series came to garner such a high rating from me. I read all four of the Twilight novels back-to-back (to back to back) over the course of one magical summer. It was the summer I ceased to be a flotation device for my always potentially drowning children and instead spent my pool days like this . . .
Ahhhhhhhh. After countless hours every summer piggybacking my non-swimming offspring around the shallow end they finally developed some buoyancy and I was able to watch things like this . . . .
and (unfortunately) also some stuff like this . . . .
*shudder*
from the comfort of a lounge chair. That was also the summer I was able to get back into reading again. Thanks to the never-ending Wal-Mart check out line and a pretty little cover that claimed the contents would "Soon Be A Major Motion Picture" I found what became a perfect little fluffy summerobsession read.
There's no doubt in my mind if I read these books today I would have a very different reaction to them. That's why I'm not going to.
Oh, and also? They gave us Jacob, so haters to the left ; )
3.5 Stars
Reviewing The Twilight Saga is a nearly unwinnable battle. If you admit to enjoying it, you run the risk of being branded an idiot. Luckily I have loads of experience with people telling me I'm an idiot, so I'm cool with it.
Let me paint a picture for you and maybe you'll understand how this little series came to garner such a high rating from me. I read all four of the Twilight novels back-to-back (to back to back) over the course of one magical summer. It was the summer I ceased to be a flotation device for my always potentially drowning children and instead spent my pool days like this . . .
Ahhhhhhhh. After countless hours every summer piggybacking my non-swimming offspring around the shallow end they finally developed some buoyancy and I was able to watch things like this . . . .
and (unfortunately) also some stuff like this . . . .
*shudder*
from the comfort of a lounge chair. That was also the summer I was able to get back into reading again. Thanks to the never-ending Wal-Mart check out line and a pretty little cover that claimed the contents would "Soon Be A Major Motion Picture" I found what became a perfect little fluffy summer
There's no doubt in my mind if I read these books today I would have a very different reaction to them. That's why I'm not going to.
Oh, and also? They gave us Jacob, so haters to the left ; )
June 15, 2018
Full review now posted!
Books are supposed to educate and enlighten and broaden the mind. They are supposed to help us understand ourselves and those who have nothing in common with us except our humanity. Books let us travel to distant lands, help us remember the past and envision the future, and they remind us to appreciate our present.
But dang it, they’re also here to entertain us. We don’t belittle television shows for amusing us and allowing us to escape from reality and forget out troubles of hour and half hour increments of time. While we can be music snobs, I think everyone can admit to singing along with catchy popular songs when you can’t escape them, even if we rolls our eyes while belting out the words. So why do we as readers label some books or series or entire genres of fiction as completely unworthy of our time? We call them trash because we see nothing of literary merit in them. But why does every book ever written have to hold some nebulous literary merit?
I deeply believe that reading should be fun, and that some books are meant to be that and only that: fun. There doesn’t have to be a life lesson or deep theme or social commentary. Yes, I believe that we should read books that contain those things as well, just as we should mix our sitcoms with news coverage and our boy bands with Bach and Beethoven. But there is nothing wrong with reading for fun and only fun, and we shouldn’t look down on those who read for fun and fun alone. And for those of us who try to read meaty literature with depth and a message and that “merit” we’re so proud of, we shouldn’t be embarrassed to take a break from that depth when we need to and consume something mindlessly addictive. Steak is great, but consuming too much red meat can give a person gout. Sometimes, you just need a big bowl of popcorn, right?
There are books that I consider “popcorn fiction.” These are books with no nutritional (literary) value, but they’re addictive and a pleasure to consume. They’re books (usually series) that are almost impossible to put down until you read the final page. The prose might not be the best, and there are generally eye-rolling plot devices sprinkled liberally throughout the book, but the characters are fun to read about even when they’re obnoxious and the plot is immersive and compelling. These are the soap operas of the fiction world, and sometimes they’re just exactly what you need to help you escape reality for a while.
I consider Twilight to be one of the ultimate popcorn series. I actually think of it more as sitting down with a five-pound bag of Lucky Charms marshmallows and just eating until you make yourself sick. These books have a bad reputation, and it’s at least partially earned. I’ve never met a main character more problematic than Bella Swan. She has no sense of self-preservation, she has a severe martyr complex, she has a horridly low opinion of herself, and she blames herself for literally everything, even those things over which she has absolutely no control. Her view of herself is quite possibly the worst I’ve ever come across. She has her strengths, of course. Bella is loyal and self-sacrificing and incredibly loving. She finds her true self and a core of strength she didn’t know existed in the final installment of the series. She even becomes a bit of a Mary Sue in terms of strength and gifts. But she absolutely should not be a role model for young girls.
Does that mean I don’t think said girls should be allowed to read the series? It does not. I think Twilight provides great fodder for discussions of self-worth and self-image when properly approached. If I was the mother of a tween or teenage girl, I would of course gauge their maturity level and provide a disclaimer before allowing her to read these, but allow it I would. My parents always let me read anything, just giving me warnings before I dug it. Because of those warnings, I knew what to be on the lookout for, and I was able to protect my mind while still thoroughly enjoying the story.
Twilight is full of things that usually would cause me to put a book down. I despise love triangles, but for some reason am completely entranced by Bella’s relationships with both Edward and Jacob. Both male characters also have their issues, but they’re super engaging to read about. I loathe Wuthering Heights and am not a fan of Romeo and Juliet, but Twilight echoes both and I still enjoy it. There’s something about this series that just lets me turn my brain off and revel in the ride.
I honestly can’t explain why I am so entertained by this series, but I am. This is my third time reading it, and it was still just as much fun as the first time. All I can say is that, when I’m in the mood for mental popcorn, this is one of my go to series, and it appears that it shall remain so.
A buddy (re)read with the ever lovely Mary!
For more of my reviews, as well as my own fiction and thoughts on life, check out my blog, Celestial Musings.
Books are supposed to educate and enlighten and broaden the mind. They are supposed to help us understand ourselves and those who have nothing in common with us except our humanity. Books let us travel to distant lands, help us remember the past and envision the future, and they remind us to appreciate our present.
But dang it, they’re also here to entertain us. We don’t belittle television shows for amusing us and allowing us to escape from reality and forget out troubles of hour and half hour increments of time. While we can be music snobs, I think everyone can admit to singing along with catchy popular songs when you can’t escape them, even if we rolls our eyes while belting out the words. So why do we as readers label some books or series or entire genres of fiction as completely unworthy of our time? We call them trash because we see nothing of literary merit in them. But why does every book ever written have to hold some nebulous literary merit?
I deeply believe that reading should be fun, and that some books are meant to be that and only that: fun. There doesn’t have to be a life lesson or deep theme or social commentary. Yes, I believe that we should read books that contain those things as well, just as we should mix our sitcoms with news coverage and our boy bands with Bach and Beethoven. But there is nothing wrong with reading for fun and only fun, and we shouldn’t look down on those who read for fun and fun alone. And for those of us who try to read meaty literature with depth and a message and that “merit” we’re so proud of, we shouldn’t be embarrassed to take a break from that depth when we need to and consume something mindlessly addictive. Steak is great, but consuming too much red meat can give a person gout. Sometimes, you just need a big bowl of popcorn, right?
There are books that I consider “popcorn fiction.” These are books with no nutritional (literary) value, but they’re addictive and a pleasure to consume. They’re books (usually series) that are almost impossible to put down until you read the final page. The prose might not be the best, and there are generally eye-rolling plot devices sprinkled liberally throughout the book, but the characters are fun to read about even when they’re obnoxious and the plot is immersive and compelling. These are the soap operas of the fiction world, and sometimes they’re just exactly what you need to help you escape reality for a while.
I consider Twilight to be one of the ultimate popcorn series. I actually think of it more as sitting down with a five-pound bag of Lucky Charms marshmallows and just eating until you make yourself sick. These books have a bad reputation, and it’s at least partially earned. I’ve never met a main character more problematic than Bella Swan. She has no sense of self-preservation, she has a severe martyr complex, she has a horridly low opinion of herself, and she blames herself for literally everything, even those things over which she has absolutely no control. Her view of herself is quite possibly the worst I’ve ever come across. She has her strengths, of course. Bella is loyal and self-sacrificing and incredibly loving. She finds her true self and a core of strength she didn’t know existed in the final installment of the series. She even becomes a bit of a Mary Sue in terms of strength and gifts. But she absolutely should not be a role model for young girls.
Does that mean I don’t think said girls should be allowed to read the series? It does not. I think Twilight provides great fodder for discussions of self-worth and self-image when properly approached. If I was the mother of a tween or teenage girl, I would of course gauge their maturity level and provide a disclaimer before allowing her to read these, but allow it I would. My parents always let me read anything, just giving me warnings before I dug it. Because of those warnings, I knew what to be on the lookout for, and I was able to protect my mind while still thoroughly enjoying the story.
Twilight is full of things that usually would cause me to put a book down. I despise love triangles, but for some reason am completely entranced by Bella’s relationships with both Edward and Jacob. Both male characters also have their issues, but they’re super engaging to read about. I loathe Wuthering Heights and am not a fan of Romeo and Juliet, but Twilight echoes both and I still enjoy it. There’s something about this series that just lets me turn my brain off and revel in the ride.
I honestly can’t explain why I am so entertained by this series, but I am. This is my third time reading it, and it was still just as much fun as the first time. All I can say is that, when I’m in the mood for mental popcorn, this is one of my go to series, and it appears that it shall remain so.
A buddy (re)read with the ever lovely Mary!
For more of my reviews, as well as my own fiction and thoughts on life, check out my blog, Celestial Musings.
November 1, 2010
(Partly based on a conversation with G N F)
- Hello. Thank you for answering our advertisement. Now, I'm going to give you a short presentation, and I'd like to measure your reactions. Just sit down here... I'm connecting this to your right wrist... this goes over your head... and, if you wouldn't mind... exactly. Right, we're almost set. Let me check it's working. Say something that's true, like, I don't know, "I am a fourteen year old girl". Good! And now something that's false, like, hm, "I've never heard of Paris Hilton." Excellent! We're good to go. Oh, don't worry, it won't hurt. All we want to do is be sure we know what you think of our idea. It'll take a few minutes, and then you get your $50.
- Okay, ah, this is a story we might be publishing as a book. It could be a movie too if things work out. It's about a teenage girl like you. Well, perhaps a bit older. Her parents are divorced. They don't have much time for her. All her mother is interested in is her feelings and her new boyfriend, and all her father is interested in is his job. She feels she needs to look after them most of the time. She's much more of a grown-up than they are. You're nodding! That's great.
- This girl worries about what's going to happen to the world. Those greedy, selfish adults seem to want to suck it dry of everything it's got. Sometimes she thinks they're like a bunch of vampires sucking out the world's blood. Sometimes she dreams that they'll suck out her blood too. Maybe she shouldn't read so many vampire books. I see you nodding again!
- Now I bet you already guessed that this is another vampire book. But they're a special kind of vampire. A technovampire. When they bite you, you turn into a... a sort of robot. Or maybe more like a beautiful living statue. I can see you frowning. You don't think it sounds very nice, do you? Well, we are having trouble with this part. Let me try it another way. Lots of women don't like the shape of their breasts. They'd like to have bigger, more attractive breasts, even if they are kind of hard to the touch. Maybe you've thought about getting a boob job? Aha! I knew it! Well, these technovampires have had a kind of boob job, but it's their whole bodies. Everything. Their whole bodies are cold and hard to the touch, but they look totally gorgeous. Okay?
- So, the girl in the story is pretty tired of looking after her dumb parents, and she knows the kids in her class are just a bunch of losers. Her only chance is to get in with the vampires and have them make her into a vampire too. So, there's all these twists and turns, but in the end she gets what she wants. There's this vampire guy who falls in love with her, and she becomes a vampire too. And they live happily ever after.
- Oh dear. You're shaking your head. You don't like it. You think it sounds horrible that she's going to abandon her family and her friends and become a cold, hard, bloodsucking vampire robot. But, look, she has to do it! It's her only chance. And she really does look totally hot once she's had the robot treatment. Okay, except that she's cold of course, you're right about that. Oh, and, I forgot to say that these other vampire robots become her new family. They're super-nice, uh, people. You still don't like it? Damn.
- Well, I can see we're going to have to tweak a few things. It still isn't quite what we want. No, no, don't say that! I tell you, we're closer than you think. Perhaps we just need to make it a bit more romantic.
- What? Of course we can. Why ever not?
- I know! The vampire robots sparkle in the sunlight. Now don't you immediately feel more positive about them? You do! Awesome.
- Okay, now thank you again for your time, and here's your $50. Oh, the pleasure's been all mine. You've been really helpful. And could you tell the next girl we're ready for her? Bye!
- Hello. Thank you for answering our advertisement. Now, I'm going to give you a short presentation, and I'd like to measure your reactions. Just sit down here... I'm connecting this to your right wrist... this goes over your head... and, if you wouldn't mind... exactly. Right, we're almost set. Let me check it's working. Say something that's true, like, I don't know, "I am a fourteen year old girl". Good! And now something that's false, like, hm, "I've never heard of Paris Hilton." Excellent! We're good to go. Oh, don't worry, it won't hurt. All we want to do is be sure we know what you think of our idea. It'll take a few minutes, and then you get your $50.
- Okay, ah, this is a story we might be publishing as a book. It could be a movie too if things work out. It's about a teenage girl like you. Well, perhaps a bit older. Her parents are divorced. They don't have much time for her. All her mother is interested in is her feelings and her new boyfriend, and all her father is interested in is his job. She feels she needs to look after them most of the time. She's much more of a grown-up than they are. You're nodding! That's great.
- This girl worries about what's going to happen to the world. Those greedy, selfish adults seem to want to suck it dry of everything it's got. Sometimes she thinks they're like a bunch of vampires sucking out the world's blood. Sometimes she dreams that they'll suck out her blood too. Maybe she shouldn't read so many vampire books. I see you nodding again!
- Now I bet you already guessed that this is another vampire book. But they're a special kind of vampire. A technovampire. When they bite you, you turn into a... a sort of robot. Or maybe more like a beautiful living statue. I can see you frowning. You don't think it sounds very nice, do you? Well, we are having trouble with this part. Let me try it another way. Lots of women don't like the shape of their breasts. They'd like to have bigger, more attractive breasts, even if they are kind of hard to the touch. Maybe you've thought about getting a boob job? Aha! I knew it! Well, these technovampires have had a kind of boob job, but it's their whole bodies. Everything. Their whole bodies are cold and hard to the touch, but they look totally gorgeous. Okay?
- So, the girl in the story is pretty tired of looking after her dumb parents, and she knows the kids in her class are just a bunch of losers. Her only chance is to get in with the vampires and have them make her into a vampire too. So, there's all these twists and turns, but in the end she gets what she wants. There's this vampire guy who falls in love with her, and she becomes a vampire too. And they live happily ever after.
- Oh dear. You're shaking your head. You don't like it. You think it sounds horrible that she's going to abandon her family and her friends and become a cold, hard, bloodsucking vampire robot. But, look, she has to do it! It's her only chance. And she really does look totally hot once she's had the robot treatment. Okay, except that she's cold of course, you're right about that. Oh, and, I forgot to say that these other vampire robots become her new family. They're super-nice, uh, people. You still don't like it? Damn.
- Well, I can see we're going to have to tweak a few things. It still isn't quite what we want. No, no, don't say that! I tell you, we're closer than you think. Perhaps we just need to make it a bit more romantic.
- What? Of course we can. Why ever not?
- I know! The vampire robots sparkle in the sunlight. Now don't you immediately feel more positive about them? You do! Awesome.
- Okay, now thank you again for your time, and here's your $50. Oh, the pleasure's been all mine. You've been really helpful. And could you tell the next girl we're ready for her? Bye!
May 14, 2017
ALL TIME FAVORITE SERIES EVER!!! No other compares!!!
November 27, 2016
The final edition of Anuradha, Stop Using the Word Rebuttal. The previous four (yes, I wrote four more of this shit) parts of this ramble may be found in my reviews of Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn.
I repeat, I'm only posting this because I read this article. I'm literally only refuting the points mentioned in this, nothing else. I don't like comparison, but if the other party does it, be sure that I will respond.
REBUTTAL POINTS 41-46:
41. The HP books are all depressing. Lots of good characters die, which isn't cool. And they're just full of violance, and ridiculous plans.
Harry Potter books may have elements of violence in them, but people die in wars. You can't just kill off only the secondary characters. Much as I hated seeing many of my favourites die, it added an element of realism to the story. Sometimes, bad things happen to good people. That's just how life is. The plans aren't ridiculous as much as they are elaborate.
42. Stephenie Meyer did her resarch and found a place like Forks so the vampires could be outside. JK just made one up.
Yeah, Rowling created a world where we could all escape into, if we wanted. She spend years coming up with the details. She used her imagination and creativity, and the effects of it all were almost perfect. She created a hidden world for her wizards in the midst of all the normalcy of some place as common as London. Making one up is a lot more tedious than Googling one.
43. The sparkles are so unique and creative. They're not stupid.
I feel like this is a parody account. The sparkles suck. Vampires don't sparkle. Period.
44. harry potter is too hard for a young child to read.
Young children should not be reading Twilight! Harry Potter has universal appeal. I read it as a child, and I understood it perfectly well.
45. Twilight is better because the books are written better and the characters bring more to the table for the readers.
"The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn" - Stephen King. Need I say more?
46. It's set in America.
It's like you're not even trying... How does that matter?
And it's done. Finito. I have no purpose in my life, again. Harry Potter made me a better person, and I will defend it ad nauseam.
Click here for my review of Twilight which contains points 1-10.
Click here for my review of New Moon, which contains points 11-20.
Click here for my review of Eclipse, which contains points 21-30.
Click here for my review of Breaking Dawn, which contains points 31-40.
I repeat, I'm only posting this because I read this article. I'm literally only refuting the points mentioned in this, nothing else. I don't like comparison, but if the other party does it, be sure that I will respond.
REBUTTAL POINTS 41-46:
41. The HP books are all depressing. Lots of good characters die, which isn't cool. And they're just full of violance, and ridiculous plans.
Harry Potter books may have elements of violence in them, but people die in wars. You can't just kill off only the secondary characters. Much as I hated seeing many of my favourites die, it added an element of realism to the story. Sometimes, bad things happen to good people. That's just how life is. The plans aren't ridiculous as much as they are elaborate.
42. Stephenie Meyer did her resarch and found a place like Forks so the vampires could be outside. JK just made one up.
Yeah, Rowling created a world where we could all escape into, if we wanted. She spend years coming up with the details. She used her imagination and creativity, and the effects of it all were almost perfect. She created a hidden world for her wizards in the midst of all the normalcy of some place as common as London. Making one up is a lot more tedious than Googling one.
43. The sparkles are so unique and creative. They're not stupid.
I feel like this is a parody account. The sparkles suck. Vampires don't sparkle. Period.
44. harry potter is too hard for a young child to read.
Young children should not be reading Twilight! Harry Potter has universal appeal. I read it as a child, and I understood it perfectly well.
45. Twilight is better because the books are written better and the characters bring more to the table for the readers.
"The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn" - Stephen King. Need I say more?
46. It's set in America.
It's like you're not even trying... How does that matter?
And it's done. Finito. I have no purpose in my life, again. Harry Potter made me a better person, and I will defend it ad nauseam.
Click here for my review of Twilight which contains points 1-10.
Click here for my review of New Moon, which contains points 11-20.
Click here for my review of Eclipse, which contains points 21-30.
Click here for my review of Breaking Dawn, which contains points 31-40.
March 27, 2008
This book was by far the best book i have ever read. Usually i dont find any interest in reading, but when i started Twilight i couldn't put it down. Ever since i read the Twilight series i've started reading on a regular basis. Even though i've read all the Twilight books i know that i will continue reading them over and over again and never get tired of them. I've told all of my friends about this book and they have read it and enjoyed it just as much as i did.
April 5, 2009
I feel like I'm being generous with my two stars. Writing? Overwrought. Plot? Sooo thin. Characters? Mostly unlikeable (or forgettable). Misogyny and patriarchy? Slathered on with a spackle knife. Thinly veiled hopes to compare her stories to "Romeo and Juliet" and "Wuthering Heights"? Meyer, c'mon. Mormon subtext? Go read storey321's review here: http://stoney321.livejournal.com/3171... because I will never top that.
However, after a really slow start, I tore through the last two. I guess Flanagan had something true in her review that "Twilight" taps into something in the adolescent girl mind. I dunno.
However, after a really slow start, I tore through the last two. I guess Flanagan had something true in her review that "Twilight" taps into something in the adolescent girl mind. I dunno.
October 25, 2020
I never thought that one day I will end up writing this, but I’m practically jobless now, maybe that explains it. I knew of the series from the time the adaptations were made; but the mixed attitude from the very start didn’t allow me to muster up the courage to start it. And last year, probably the same time as now I asked one of my friends if he thinks these are readable. I will give you the exact words he spoke:
“If you like stuff that are cringy AF, then why, definitely yes.”
And then I read this stuff: “Twilight Saga is one of the most underrated series ever, and is widely misunderstood. Please do read it yourself to form your opinion. Don’t be a snob beforehand.”
From the rating it’s pretty clear what’s my opinion. But I still stand by the last two lines, as above. You know, when I was through the books, and carried them around me, especially in college, people made expressions as if I stank when I was reading. Well, people tend to behave like that most of the times they catch anyone reading, and I end up always like that, but this time it was ten steps higher.
DUDE, IT IS JUST A BOOK.
And truth be told it isn’t as bad as I expected it to be, either. Definitely not something I need to spend my money on, thanks to my Dad who lets me buy any book but advised me not to buy this entire box-set at once, and I resolved to borrowing. I guess I will never again find a YA, like The Perks Of Being A Wallflower…
Stephanie Meyer writes quite lucidly, and in that sense the books are damn well readable. Full of those ‘silly’ ingredients of YA, yeah, I find it quite obnoxious when the narrator keeps on describing his/her crush’s ‘body’ for pages after pages. I can excuse a bit for sake of vampires, but come on, not again. The world building had had my favorite inclement, damp component that could have proved nice, and the plot would have been better if the author had focused more on the Vampire’s background.
I was actually quite awestruck at how sluggishly can the story move! Basically, it stopped midway to drone on and on for two books about that disgusting love-triangle, of which I can’t make a head or tail. And the protagonists are not at all likeable (especially Bella), not in the sense they are criminal-minded or something. They just had their morals all wrong, and philosophies even a 10-year-old will find absurd.
All in all, the concept did have its potential. And it failed drastically trying to infuse YA elements into it, which, however succeeded in making the series an international bestseller.
I would basically have rated it 1. But I managed to finish it, which I see as a huge achievement. Also, it has a story, however ridiculous that may be, and also few interesting characters, notwithstanding the very unpardonably-shallow character development. (Primarily unpardonable for the massive length). And there are much, much worse series or books out there which have got the cult status. So, basically, I am fine with the popularity of this series.
“If you like stuff that are cringy AF, then why, definitely yes.”
And then I read this stuff: “Twilight Saga is one of the most underrated series ever, and is widely misunderstood. Please do read it yourself to form your opinion. Don’t be a snob beforehand.”
From the rating it’s pretty clear what’s my opinion. But I still stand by the last two lines, as above. You know, when I was through the books, and carried them around me, especially in college, people made expressions as if I stank when I was reading. Well, people tend to behave like that most of the times they catch anyone reading, and I end up always like that, but this time it was ten steps higher.
DUDE, IT IS JUST A BOOK.
And truth be told it isn’t as bad as I expected it to be, either. Definitely not something I need to spend my money on, thanks to my Dad who lets me buy any book but advised me not to buy this entire box-set at once, and I resolved to borrowing. I guess I will never again find a YA, like The Perks Of Being A Wallflower…
Stephanie Meyer writes quite lucidly, and in that sense the books are damn well readable. Full of those ‘silly’ ingredients of YA, yeah, I find it quite obnoxious when the narrator keeps on describing his/her crush’s ‘body’ for pages after pages. I can excuse a bit for sake of vampires, but come on, not again. The world building had had my favorite inclement, damp component that could have proved nice, and the plot would have been better if the author had focused more on the Vampire’s background.
I was actually quite awestruck at how sluggishly can the story move! Basically, it stopped midway to drone on and on for two books about that disgusting love-triangle, of which I can’t make a head or tail. And the protagonists are not at all likeable (especially Bella), not in the sense they are criminal-minded or something. They just had their morals all wrong, and philosophies even a 10-year-old will find absurd.
All in all, the concept did have its potential. And it failed drastically trying to infuse YA elements into it, which, however succeeded in making the series an international bestseller.
I would basically have rated it 1. But I managed to finish it, which I see as a huge achievement. Also, it has a story, however ridiculous that may be, and also few interesting characters, notwithstanding the very unpardonably-shallow character development. (Primarily unpardonable for the massive length). And there are much, much worse series or books out there which have got the cult status. So, basically, I am fine with the popularity of this series.
March 14, 2010
These book are a shame to literature. One day, I can only hope and pray, this Saga will be laughed at in sheer disgust and mocked, and all who said that it was the "best and most romantic book ever" will be mocked as well. If your looking for gushy, teenager romance junk, than these are the books for you. If you want something truly romantic, characters that actually have personalities, and a plot that dousnt make you cringe and want to stab yourself, than don't even glance at these "books". It saddens me how so many love them, and makes me wonder why the world's taste has suddenly become so low that we result to reading and loving trash instead of the true works of art and literary masterpieces which have changed life. I would rather eat dirt than recommend these to anyone, and let me just tell you (scowls at her rashness which she is unable to hold back) you have absolutely NO taste in books and have not even read good books if you give this book more than one star. Sorry if this upset you terribly: but I must tell you all the truth and hope that you will turn to GOOD books one day.
March 5, 2012
I read this series once in order to keep up with pop culture and stay aware of what my students were reading. I recently reread it when my 11-year old stepdaughter expressed interest in the books.
My review is somewhat ambivalent. On the one hand, I was reasonably engrossed with the series despite its obvious simplicity and Stephanie Meyer's apparent ignorance regarding the difference between who and whom. The books include vampires, werewolves, baseball, La Push (one of my favorite places on the planet), and enough erotic tension to get anyone in the mood. What's not to like?
On the other hand, the story itself could easily be read as a metaphor for conservative Mormon theology. Not only that, the idea of teenage girls accepting Bella and Edward as an acceptable relationship model is horrific. No, they do not practice unsafe sex. Instead, each person in this couple is so inflexibly "in love" with the other that they literally cannot exist without the other. Threats of self-immolation, self-hurt, and suicide abound in each other's absence. Edward is an overprotective, controlling, even physically harmful (because of his supernatural strength) partner at times (always remorseful, but never quite able to stop himself); Bella just keeps coming back for more (grimace). When they are apart, Bella LITERALLY falls down and can't get up. Meyers leaves blank pages for entire seasons in New Moon--periods of Edward's absence when Bella's depression is so rampant that her thoughts and actions are not worth recording. Bella is only able to be a person again with the help of another semi-paramour, Jacob. That's right, she needs the help of a good man to get her sad face off the ground.
Without blowing the ending for future readings, it's safe to say that all will be right in the world by the end of the series. Marriages will occur, babies will be born, and the happy domestic dream of a Mormon-inspired life will ensue--one in which the female is never able to achieve happiness or true self-realization on her own, but requires the assistance of a man in her life in order to fulfill it completely.
Sure, the series tantalizes the Daddy issues of millions of women, but here is the question with which I was faced: would you feel comfortable with your impressionable tween/teen daughter reading this particular paradigm of love and self-growth?
You can probably guess my answer. Two stars, Ms. Meyer. You get the second for holding my interest, but you should be mildly ashamed.
My review is somewhat ambivalent. On the one hand, I was reasonably engrossed with the series despite its obvious simplicity and Stephanie Meyer's apparent ignorance regarding the difference between who and whom. The books include vampires, werewolves, baseball, La Push (one of my favorite places on the planet), and enough erotic tension to get anyone in the mood. What's not to like?
On the other hand, the story itself could easily be read as a metaphor for conservative Mormon theology. Not only that, the idea of teenage girls accepting Bella and Edward as an acceptable relationship model is horrific. No, they do not practice unsafe sex. Instead, each person in this couple is so inflexibly "in love" with the other that they literally cannot exist without the other. Threats of self-immolation, self-hurt, and suicide abound in each other's absence. Edward is an overprotective, controlling, even physically harmful (because of his supernatural strength) partner at times (always remorseful, but never quite able to stop himself); Bella just keeps coming back for more (grimace). When they are apart, Bella LITERALLY falls down and can't get up. Meyers leaves blank pages for entire seasons in New Moon--periods of Edward's absence when Bella's depression is so rampant that her thoughts and actions are not worth recording. Bella is only able to be a person again with the help of another semi-paramour, Jacob. That's right, she needs the help of a good man to get her sad face off the ground.
Without blowing the ending for future readings, it's safe to say that all will be right in the world by the end of the series. Marriages will occur, babies will be born, and the happy domestic dream of a Mormon-inspired life will ensue--one in which the female is never able to achieve happiness or true self-realization on her own, but requires the assistance of a man in her life in order to fulfill it completely.
Sure, the series tantalizes the Daddy issues of millions of women, but here is the question with which I was faced: would you feel comfortable with your impressionable tween/teen daughter reading this particular paradigm of love and self-growth?
You can probably guess my answer. Two stars, Ms. Meyer. You get the second for holding my interest, but you should be mildly ashamed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 17, 2010
I read these 4 books over the span of a year and a half, which goes to show that I wasn't very keen on them. I read the first one in spring 2008 because it was a bestseller and I was curious what the book was like and why it was so popular. The first 200 pages or so were pretty dull. I felt like there was very little action and too many dialogues. Then finally, the bad guys appeared and the pace quickened up and I actually found the book interesting from that part on.
The first book is not that bad, actually, the problem lies in the next ones where Bella's and Edward mutual obsession reaches ridiculous and completely unbelievable levels. What is it with Stephenie Meyer and her unhealthy fascination with perfection? Why does Edward have to be the ideal guy - unbelievably beautiful, a 100 % gentleman and a perfect match for Bella? Why do werewolves have to find their soulmate and imprint on them, no matter the age or the personality of that person? Why aren't the books more focused on things other than "the match made in heaven" or later on the love triangle? Why does the writer constantly underline that almost all characters are soulmates : Carlisle and his wife, Emmet and Rosalie, Jasper and Alice, Bella and Edward, Jacob and Renesmee (oh, they WILL live happily ever after together too, no doubt about that!), even James and Victoria must have been soulmates? Heck, even in harlequins the main characters aren't as obsessed with each other as B & E are! Seriously, Meyer's attempt to make a modern remake of "Romeo and Juliet" is horrifying!
But lets get back to the books. I happened to read "Eclipse" before "New Moon" in the e-book format and I was terribly bored! It should have been twice shorter. The love triangle wasn't exciting and didn't create real tension because of Bella's eternal commitment to Edward. It was more like constant repetition of :
Jacob : Bella, I love you. Leave your bloodsucker and we'll live happily ever after!
Bella : No, Jacob, you're just a friend to me! I could never leave Edward because he's oh so perfect and we're meant to spend eternity together.
Edward : Bella, I love you more than Romeo loved Juliet, so don't you dare go near her, Jacob!
The part of the plot that dealt with Victoria and the newborns also isn't worth attention. The bad guys were dealt with, Bella agreed to become Edward's wife, Jacob turned into a werewolf, ran away, end of the book.
I've noticed that a lot of people who were "Twilight" fans were very disappointed with the 4th book, so I decided to download it and see how it could get any worse. Also around that time I watched the 1st "Twilight" movie, liked it and decided to read the 2nd book to know what to expect from the next movie.
I can't say that the 4th book was obviously inferior to previous books, no, it simply continued the "we're a perfect couple and we're gonna live perfectly ever after" theme that is present in previous series installments: our ultimate couple gets married,they have a baby who makes them even more blissful, figure out their problems with Volturi (damn, I really hoped there would be an epic battle and many would get killed, but noooo, Meyer is a huge pacifist who allows even the evil Volturi leave unharmed!), the annoying love triangle is solved by Jacob's imprinting on Renesmee, everyone is ecstatic and their ecstasy will last forever.
A thing that really bugged me : did we really NEED those 100 pages of Jacob's narrative with Leah and what's-his-name J's buddy thrown in?!! Personally, I don't give a damn about werewolves!
Lets also give "New Moon" an "honorable" mention. I admit it, I am a fan of sad stories, but Bella's agony is just idiotically overblown and melodramatic (but I'm not surprised, seeing that this whole love story is one big hyperbole and there isn't a slightest hint of realism in it). Bella is a zombie for several months, but then Jacob rescues her from complete and utter despair and just like everyone else he falls in love with her, but no, he's just a friend to Bella, because no one can match her perfect Eddie! She does all kinds of dangerous things to hear her one true soulmate's voice, including jumping from the cliffs. Then she learns from Alice that her darling Eddie considers her to be dead and, being a Romeo wannabe, plans to end his life too. She races to Volterra and saves him in the last moment. They have a nice little chat with Volturi and happily go home.
No, really, what's not to love in this primitive cliched love story? It's a literature masterpiece, let's recommend it to everyone we know and create a "Twilight" fan club!
The first book is not that bad, actually, the problem lies in the next ones where Bella's and Edward mutual obsession reaches ridiculous and completely unbelievable levels. What is it with Stephenie Meyer and her unhealthy fascination with perfection? Why does Edward have to be the ideal guy - unbelievably beautiful, a 100 % gentleman and a perfect match for Bella? Why do werewolves have to find their soulmate and imprint on them, no matter the age or the personality of that person? Why aren't the books more focused on things other than "the match made in heaven" or later on the love triangle? Why does the writer constantly underline that almost all characters are soulmates : Carlisle and his wife, Emmet and Rosalie, Jasper and Alice, Bella and Edward, Jacob and Renesmee (oh, they WILL live happily ever after together too, no doubt about that!), even James and Victoria must have been soulmates? Heck, even in harlequins the main characters aren't as obsessed with each other as B & E are! Seriously, Meyer's attempt to make a modern remake of "Romeo and Juliet" is horrifying!
But lets get back to the books. I happened to read "Eclipse" before "New Moon" in the e-book format and I was terribly bored! It should have been twice shorter. The love triangle wasn't exciting and didn't create real tension because of Bella's eternal commitment to Edward. It was more like constant repetition of :
Jacob : Bella, I love you. Leave your bloodsucker and we'll live happily ever after!
Bella : No, Jacob, you're just a friend to me! I could never leave Edward because he's oh so perfect and we're meant to spend eternity together.
Edward : Bella, I love you more than Romeo loved Juliet, so don't you dare go near her, Jacob!
The part of the plot that dealt with Victoria and the newborns also isn't worth attention. The bad guys were dealt with, Bella agreed to become Edward's wife, Jacob turned into a werewolf, ran away, end of the book.
I've noticed that a lot of people who were "Twilight" fans were very disappointed with the 4th book, so I decided to download it and see how it could get any worse. Also around that time I watched the 1st "Twilight" movie, liked it and decided to read the 2nd book to know what to expect from the next movie.
I can't say that the 4th book was obviously inferior to previous books, no, it simply continued the "we're a perfect couple and we're gonna live perfectly ever after" theme that is present in previous series installments: our ultimate couple gets married,they have a baby who makes them even more blissful, figure out their problems with Volturi (damn, I really hoped there would be an epic battle and many would get killed, but noooo, Meyer is a huge pacifist who allows even the evil Volturi leave unharmed!), the annoying love triangle is solved by Jacob's imprinting on Renesmee, everyone is ecstatic and their ecstasy will last forever.
A thing that really bugged me : did we really NEED those 100 pages of Jacob's narrative with Leah and what's-his-name J's buddy thrown in?!! Personally, I don't give a damn about werewolves!
Lets also give "New Moon" an "honorable" mention. I admit it, I am a fan of sad stories, but Bella's agony is just idiotically overblown and melodramatic (but I'm not surprised, seeing that this whole love story is one big hyperbole and there isn't a slightest hint of realism in it). Bella is a zombie for several months, but then Jacob rescues her from complete and utter despair and just like everyone else he falls in love with her, but no, he's just a friend to Bella, because no one can match her perfect Eddie! She does all kinds of dangerous things to hear her one true soulmate's voice, including jumping from the cliffs. Then she learns from Alice that her darling Eddie considers her to be dead and, being a Romeo wannabe, plans to end his life too. She races to Volterra and saves him in the last moment. They have a nice little chat with Volturi and happily go home.
No, really, what's not to love in this primitive cliched love story? It's a literature masterpiece, let's recommend it to everyone we know and create a "Twilight" fan club!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2023
^me at the finish line of this reading project I started in August
Preface
I know this series is beloved by many, and I’m not trying to rain on anybody’s parade here. If the rating turns you off, skip my review. There are as many interpretations of Twilight as there are readers. Enjoy your interpretation and I will enjoy mine.
Reading this series exhausted me. I finished it while ill, and grumpy about being ill, because I knew reading the last book would not make my mood worse. I may not respond to comments in a timely manner.
Why?
Curiosity finally got the better of me. I was the perfect age for this franchise when the books and movies were hot, but the covers turned me off. A friend who was a fan told me the books had spoiled the reading of her old favorite books! No way was I going to read something guaranteed to ruin my reading life.
I’m an adult now. I had lovely English professors who taught me how to read books I dislike. I’m also in a safe and healthy marriage (despite the fact that my husband read the books in high school, LOL) so there is little to fear from these books warping my sense of romance.
Bella
The first installment, Twilight was not as bad as I thought it would be. The writing was capable, if not good. One improvement could have been Bella having a better interior monologue. She enjoys reading the classics; she’s smart, having taken AP classes and remembering minutiae from her studies; she shops on a budget and cooks from scratch. She’s not the Mary Sue that some interpreters promised me, but she’s not written very well, either. Bella is depressed, and as a formerly depressed, formerly teen girl I fully understand the oppressive boredom and blankness that come from depression. Yet Bella doesn’t move out of her mental blankness when she’s in love with Edward. The rest of the series provides no more interiority for her.
Devaluing Human Life
We also lose Bella’s narrative, such as it is, at a key point: when she is pregnant with a half-vampire child. We move to the perspective of Jacob, a werewolf. The pregnancy is destroying Bella’s body, and her medical team (just Carlisle) neglects some very obvious care options until it’s almost too late. Jacob wants Bella to end the pregnancy, and he’s the narrator of this portion. Once the baby is born, Jacob spiritually mates with her (yes, as a freshly born infant). Does Renesmee get a choice? Nope. Teenage werewolf boy does that, without her, or even her parents’, knowledge or consent.
Twilight climaxes with the erasure of Bella’s humanity when she becomes a vampire. This ends her human life forever, and cuts her off from family (you know…like an abusive partner would). The romantic hero is a serial murderer; so is Bella’s pregnancy bodyguard, Rosalie; the desire to slaughter is a main character trait in most of the characters, even in those who suppress it; the ending of her human life is Bella’s main goal. The saga systematically devalues human life (something that is difficult not to do in a vampire world).
The immortal children (toddler vampires) are so dangerous that they must not be created, or slaughtered immediately if they are created. This is pro-death and anti-child. Meyer didn’t have to imagine this. Yet, she made little baby vampires mass murderers and made their deaths, and thus the deaths of hundreds of humans, a linchpin of the plot.
This franchise did not change my opinion on vampires in literature. After reading The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, I am forever turned off to predator-prey relationships. Can’t we call “vegetarian” vampires carnivores and traditional vampires anthropovores? Vegetarian is not an appropriate term. Carlisle did not have consent from his family members before he turned them. What if they didn’t want to live forever? Also, Edward is a murderer. I don’t care if the victims were “bad.” Murder is murder, my dude. You got a second chance at eternal life while taking away someone’s life. Please turn yourself in to the hypocrisy police.
I am also left a little cold by these vampires who hoard wealth while blending in with humans. Do something. They have infinite energy, time, capability. Fix climate change! Save the rainforests! Cure cancer! Do an amazing research project that would take a human four lifetimes! Honestly. Why are these vampires choosing to be in high school over and over again? This is the second-biggest plot hole in the series for me.
A Love Story?
Edward regularly spends the night with Bella, watching her she sleep, or lying with her, outside the covers, so she won’t grow cold from his glittery skin. Bella and Edward kiss, but they don’t consummate their relationship until they are married. As someone who has been on a real-life, human honeymoon, their honeymoon felt unrealistic. Edward and Bella don’t laugh, flirt, tease, or joke. They aren’t relaxed and blissful together. They focus on pleasure but not intimacy. That’s not healthy, happy married sex.
Herein, methinks, lies my problem with Edward and Bella: they’re not friends. They don’t have mutual hobbies or interests where they can spend sexually neutral time together. They don’t talk about much besides Vampire™. What do they do together for eternity since they don’t need to eat, sleep, or work? They don’t enjoy normal human activities like watching movies or playing games, they don’t have inside jokes or shared interests or dimension in their lives.
Twilight is a story of desire. Desire is a part of love, but it is not all that love is. Bella desires to be like Edward and to have sex with him. Edward desires Bella, both her blood and her body. They do not demonstrate many other markers of love, such as mutual respect, intimacy, peace, and communication.
Meyer tries really hard to use other famous “love” stories, like Wuthering Heights, Romeo and Juliet, and Adam and Eve to interpret Bella and Edward. However, none of those are truly love stories, and few would admit any of them are healthy. Heathcliff is vengeful like Edward and Jacob (red flag). Romeo and Juliet is a comedy gone wrong, not a romance. Adam and Eve blame each other, then raise a murderer. Love stories, these are not! If these stories buttressed the romance, no wonder Bella/Edward feels off. (Jacob, the alternate romantic hero, is a sexual predator. He sexually assaults Bella, then supernaturally bonds with her infant.)
A love story? Not in my book.
The Eternal Patriarchal Family
Much ink has been spilled on the influence of Stephenie Meyer’s LDS faith on her writing. Along with other reviewers, I saw that the Cullen family itself is an LDS vision of the eternal patriarchal family. (See here for LDS teaching on the father as patriarch and here for LDS teaching on the father as priesthood holder.) The Cullen coven hinges on Carlisle, who was turned first, then recruited companions for himself. Everyone mates for “life,” with a heterosexual mate preferably chosen by Carlisle, and lives in the Cullen family unit for eternity.
It doesn’t sit well. Carlisle has turned a woman around his age for himself, welcomed in an “adopted” couple, and turned a few others--all teenagers--for his companionship. The teens are considered to be adults in the vampire world, yet they are not free. One couple couldn’t head out and create another Cullen-esque coven. If it’s such a good thing, why aren’t they trying to evangelize, as it were? This just doesn’t ring true. In my religion, marriage does not extend into eternity, so perhaps I don’t have the eschatology needful to interpret this positively. Carlisle grooms teenage vampires to live eternally under his authority.
Embodiment
Twilight devalues the human body and the experience of embodiment. Meyer and I disagree theologically. That’s fine. What’s not fine is a wildly popular series influencing teenage girls that promotes becoming non-human as an escape from the uncomfortable parts of embodiment. Meyer’s vampires don’t eat food, drink water, or sleep. They don’t get sick. They can’t reproduce by creating a new body (they convert already-existing bodies). Their one human drive is the sex drive, which makes no evolutionary sense, since they are supposedly sterile.* Meyer is fine with them missing out on human pleasures of eating, sleeping, and the like, but heaven forbid vampires lose their sex drive! What’s the whole point of this series if vampires can’t have sex? Medically speaking, vampires are like a virus or parasite, but one that “perfects” the human body rather than attacks it.
The 2000s were an era of tanning beds, normalized extreme dieting, and other dangerous beauty standards. The ethos of Twilight is to remain a “perfect” teenage self without any of the uncomfortable parts of being adolescent. No wonder Bella is so depressed! She thinks she is perfect, age-wise, but also completely disgusting because she is human. Bella hates her own body simply because it’s human; she doesn’t like clothing and leaves her wedding gown and trousseau to Alice. I grew up with friends who struggled with EDs, who self-harmed, who hated how they looked. And I can’t help but read Twilight as a symptom of the misogyny that drives young women to hate their bodies.
Similarly, Renesmee (half-human, half-vampire) skips the “gross” parts of embodiment. She ages very quickly, but stops at a teenage/twenties state. There’s no indication that she learns to talk, walk, or use the toilet. This vilifies childhood as much as Bella’s situation vilifies adulthood. And the immortal children only reinforce this! There is not a glimpse of an elderly vampire, either. It’s like Meyer sets her characters into a purgatorial state of adolescence. No other age is good enough. Listen to me: In Meyer’s world, existing as a baby is dissatisfactory. Existing as an elderly person? Not even imaginable.
(Were Meyer’s lore more developed, there might be a reason for Renesmee to grow so fast. As it is, this does not cohere with Meyer’s other worldbuilding logic. Vampires do not age. We all know humans do not age so quickly. Why does vampire + human = fast-growing half-vampire-half-human? Why is the stopping point in one’s late teens? Why is Meyer setting up a world where aging, even in childhood, does not occur? This is the biggest plot hole in the series for me. Someone call Elinor Dashwood to dump a load of sense on this mess.)
Antidotes
What is the antidote to this venom? The human body is beautiful, cherished, made in the image of God. Girls are worth everything.
Near her 18th birthday, Bella dreams that she has aged, looking like her grandmother, and freaking out because she is approaching her eighteenth birthday and is not a vampire yet. That scene broke my heart. My grandmother died this year. She was 93. On her 91st birthday, she suddenly developed dementia after a collapse. She lost her grandchildren’s names, her children’s names, her own name. Yet, she had lived over 90 years as a woman who loved her community, her family, her land. Love was a habit for her, often in the form of food and hugs. She was so deeply shaped by love that even in her state of profound confusion, she reverted to her most basic habit. Every time I spoke to her in those final years, she told me, “I love you, honey.” She didn’t know who I was, but she knew she was a person who loved, and she saw me as the object of her love. This is what aging is: our bodies break down, our minds become untethered, but our hearts continue to love.** Bella never gets to have these experiences because she gives up not only her aging, but her relationship with her parents as they age.
Bella’s fear of aging is morally reprehensible. Is this a product of 2000s culture? Sure. But literature is where we explore and critique cultural norms, imagining something better in their place. The Twilight saga reinforces the idea that youth equals value and beauty, and that anti-aging is feasible, even desirable. Bella never gets a chance to love unto death as a real human would, and that is her great loss. Though Meyer indicates that the Cullen coven can love since they are carnivores rather than anthropovores, their experience of love has none of the human costliness that constitutes love.
As an antidote to Twilight I will rewatch Barbie: The Movie for the umpteenth time (its message about embodiment is the exact opposite of Meyer’s!). I will revel in Murder, She Wrote and the joy of a middle-aged woman living her best widowhood life without needing romantic flings. I will re-read In this House of Brede for the fourth time to remember how hard and good it is to be a Christian woman living in community with other Christian women. I will meditate on Mary, the mother of God, in Advent and Christmas and call her blessed. I will hug my 70-something bestie a little longer when I see her (she loves vampire stories though, bless her). I will embrace my own body and love myself as God has made me, in all my faulty glory, as I age.
-----
*The way Meyer sets up the lore indicates that only female vampires are sterile. Male vampires can impregnate human women. Can a human male impregnate a female vampire? Unclear. Since human women are the only ones who can bear half-vampire, half-human children (Nahuel and his sisters), Meyer sets up an even worse situation, where the result of human-vampire intercourse is a dead female body (unless venom intervenes, which erases the body of a human female anyway).
**I’m not trying to spiritualize dementia, and some degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s drastically change personalities, no matter what the personality was previously like. However, this is my lived experience with a loved one and I interpreted this saga through that. I hope I, too, am so deeply shaped by a habit of loving that it is the last thing I hold on to when my body breaks down. Lest you think my grandmother was all roses and sunshine, the last time we spoke before her dementia began she said (over the phone) that I “sounded like” I’d “gained weight.” LOL.
February 13, 2015
This shouldn't even be called a book. It is horrid. It should be illegal.
I'm not just saying this because it's a bad book (which it is) but because it's such a bad influence. The message of this book (given out by one putrid Bella Swan)is that a girl is useless without her boyfriend.
Honestly it's all Bella's fault, I mean when Edward leaves her she crawls up on the ground and is depressed for, like, half a year. She only gets better when she gets another man in her life, Jacob Black (canine shapeshifter- Sirius Black's last name- anyone else seeing the connection?)
Not just that but she has so little self-worth she throws herself off cliffs just to see a vision of her ex. Get some persepctive!
That aside Bella has no will of her own and, when she moves in with her dad (who watches sport and has a gun) what is practically the first thing she does? Goes to the kitchen and starts cooking, I mean come on! Sexist much?
And have you noticed that almost all the women in Twilight don't go out and get a job, they just live off their men?
Bella is the single most annoying female character I have ever come across in any book I've ever read (with the possible expection of the hypocrite Rose Hathaway from Vampire Academy) and I've read a lot of books.
And as for Edward, well let me get started...
How on earth is it romantic when he's stalking her and WATCHING HER SLEEP FOR GOD'S SAKE? It's not sweet, it's messed up, call the freaking cops.
And later when he's a nice guy etc. and he's trying to encourage her to get a job she's all like "I want to stay with you" it just says that he's manipulated her and messed her up into thinking she can't live without him.
No to mention that if he's a hundred years old he could have actually done something with that time instead of going to high school a thousand times and seducing someone over eighty years his junior. Honestly!
I mean if she's going to risk her life dating someone who has the potential to see her as lunch then it doesn't say much about her sense of what's good for her.
Also how many freaking times does the authour need to tell us that he's "gorgeous" I got the picture after the first hundered times goddammit.
Another thing, why is everyone in that book in love with Bella? Seriously, what is there to love, is her chronic clumsiness supposed to be endearing, or he complete uselessness meant to be a good thing? What happened to strong female characters?
This book sends a really bad message to people, that it's alright for a girl to just cling onto her man.
That aside the story line is pretty much a rip off of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and the supporting cast is so weak it isn't even funny. The only decent characters (Alice, Jasper, Emmet, Seth etc) are barely metioned and almost all the human characters at Bella's school are either one dimensional or plain unpleasant with no redeeming qualities.
I don't like the Jacob/Renesme pairing, it was just a lazy way to tie up loose ends, and Bella's whole "sheild" ability is lame too. I know it ties in with how Edward can't read her thoughts but personally i think that thats because there were no thoughts worth reading in the first place. She certainly doesn't have an individual thought within her head anyway.
As for the sparkling in the sunlight... where do I begin? Sparkling, hoenstly, just when you thought this book couldn't get any worse, Edward has to go ahead and sparkle. Not only does it hark back to something from a Barbie princess movie but it's like a very poetic irony to have a lack-lustre character start sparkling. That aside it's just sad when it comes to Edward because on anyone else it could have been mildly fabulous, but no, it just make Edward a complete sissy. As for it's too cloudy in Forks for him to sparkle properly, bitch please, if he sparkles in sunlight and not artificial light then it's the UV doing it, and UV doesn't care about how cloudy it is. He will sparkle in Forks just as much as anywhere else, if this book wasn't already irrealistic enough then this made me want to shoot someone.
In conclusion,this book was truly unholy (and this is coming from a La Vey Satanist) so yeah...
Rant concluded.
I'm not just saying this because it's a bad book (which it is) but because it's such a bad influence. The message of this book (given out by one putrid Bella Swan)is that a girl is useless without her boyfriend.
Honestly it's all Bella's fault, I mean when Edward leaves her she crawls up on the ground and is depressed for, like, half a year. She only gets better when she gets another man in her life, Jacob Black (canine shapeshifter- Sirius Black's last name- anyone else seeing the connection?)
Not just that but she has so little self-worth she throws herself off cliffs just to see a vision of her ex. Get some persepctive!
That aside Bella has no will of her own and, when she moves in with her dad (who watches sport and has a gun) what is practically the first thing she does? Goes to the kitchen and starts cooking, I mean come on! Sexist much?
And have you noticed that almost all the women in Twilight don't go out and get a job, they just live off their men?
Bella is the single most annoying female character I have ever come across in any book I've ever read (with the possible expection of the hypocrite Rose Hathaway from Vampire Academy) and I've read a lot of books.
And as for Edward, well let me get started...
How on earth is it romantic when he's stalking her and WATCHING HER SLEEP FOR GOD'S SAKE? It's not sweet, it's messed up, call the freaking cops.
And later when he's a nice guy etc. and he's trying to encourage her to get a job she's all like "I want to stay with you" it just says that he's manipulated her and messed her up into thinking she can't live without him.
No to mention that if he's a hundred years old he could have actually done something with that time instead of going to high school a thousand times and seducing someone over eighty years his junior. Honestly!
I mean if she's going to risk her life dating someone who has the potential to see her as lunch then it doesn't say much about her sense of what's good for her.
Also how many freaking times does the authour need to tell us that he's "gorgeous" I got the picture after the first hundered times goddammit.
Another thing, why is everyone in that book in love with Bella? Seriously, what is there to love, is her chronic clumsiness supposed to be endearing, or he complete uselessness meant to be a good thing? What happened to strong female characters?
This book sends a really bad message to people, that it's alright for a girl to just cling onto her man.
That aside the story line is pretty much a rip off of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and the supporting cast is so weak it isn't even funny. The only decent characters (Alice, Jasper, Emmet, Seth etc) are barely metioned and almost all the human characters at Bella's school are either one dimensional or plain unpleasant with no redeeming qualities.
I don't like the Jacob/Renesme pairing, it was just a lazy way to tie up loose ends, and Bella's whole "sheild" ability is lame too. I know it ties in with how Edward can't read her thoughts but personally i think that thats because there were no thoughts worth reading in the first place. She certainly doesn't have an individual thought within her head anyway.
As for the sparkling in the sunlight... where do I begin? Sparkling, hoenstly, just when you thought this book couldn't get any worse, Edward has to go ahead and sparkle. Not only does it hark back to something from a Barbie princess movie but it's like a very poetic irony to have a lack-lustre character start sparkling. That aside it's just sad when it comes to Edward because on anyone else it could have been mildly fabulous, but no, it just make Edward a complete sissy. As for it's too cloudy in Forks for him to sparkle properly, bitch please, if he sparkles in sunlight and not artificial light then it's the UV doing it, and UV doesn't care about how cloudy it is. He will sparkle in Forks just as much as anywhere else, if this book wasn't already irrealistic enough then this made me want to shoot someone.
In conclusion,this book was truly unholy (and this is coming from a La Vey Satanist) so yeah...
Rant concluded.
July 25, 2016
So there is a Japanese manga adaptation of the series and I need it ASAP. I may not be a Twilight fan, but I am a fan of manga. Sometimes, I even read bad manga because it is fun. There is only a level up to which a bad story can annoy the reader. If it gets any worse, it becomes funny. I go pretty fast from, "What the heck am I reading. It's making me so irritated, I want to tear this book." to "LOL, the author actually thought this would work." I know this one is going to be hilarious.
Unfortunately, this manga is available only in Japanese now. Here are the titles of the 13 volumes in English, thanks to Google Translate:
1. People who loved the vampire
2. Blood sorrow of taste
3. Darkness of the vampire clan
4. Fang whisper sweet
5. Month of wolf
6. Grief of fallen angels
7. Red stamped
8. The cold kiss me
9. Twilight demon of time
10. Vampire bride
11. The Guardian of the Dawn
12. Immortal child
13. Being held forever
Alright, I know the titles would sound better in Japanese. Someone, please please release an English version soon.
Unfortunately, this manga is available only in Japanese now. Here are the titles of the 13 volumes in English, thanks to Google Translate:
1. People who loved the vampire
2. Blood sorrow of taste
3. Darkness of the vampire clan
4. Fang whisper sweet
5. Month of wolf
6. Grief of fallen angels
7. Red stamped
8. The cold kiss me
9. Twilight demon of time
10. Vampire bride
11. The Guardian of the Dawn
12. Immortal child
13. Being held forever
Alright, I know the titles would sound better in Japanese. Someone, please please release an English version soon.
January 21, 2023
I am extremely embarrassed by my obsession with twilight, but I can no longer deny who I am. I don’t care how annoying the characters are or how many red flags pop up, I will lose sleep to read this. I don’t know what this says about me, reading this for the second time in my twenties (first time was 2 years ago) and thinking I have “good taste” and all that, but still absolutely loving this train wreck of a story. It’s the best, what can I say?
The Host has consistently been one of my most reread books throughout my life since middle school, and I think the reason I like Twilight is for the same reason as The Host - the fantasy is actually interesting. Unfortunate that she only fleshed out the fantasy world in the second half of the last book, but it was so fun to read about vampire powers!
Anyway, it was a good time, it did it’s job of distracting me, and now I shall move on with a healthy appreciation for twilight memes.
The Host has consistently been one of my most reread books throughout my life since middle school, and I think the reason I like Twilight is for the same reason as The Host - the fantasy is actually interesting. Unfortunate that she only fleshed out the fantasy world in the second half of the last book, but it was so fun to read about vampire powers!
Anyway, it was a good time, it did it’s job of distracting me, and now I shall move on with a healthy appreciation for twilight memes.
March 29, 2008
Who doesn't love these books? They are embarresingly addictive and so fun to read. I fell in love with the characters, though there wasn't enough Edward in the 2nd book...and can't wait to see what happens next.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 19, 2021
the series that got me into reading. forever grateful, but adult me would never read it
July 26, 2017
Maybe I should rate this higher just because I enjoyed it?? I don't exactly recommend this book, but I have to admit, I found it weirdly compelling when I read it in sixth grade. I found it trashy even then, but I wasn't bored and I never wanted to stop reading. Why? I'm really not sure. It's just one of those questions that will never be answered.
WOW THIS SERIES IS REALLY FUCKING LONG??
IT'S TWO THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED SIXTY FUCKING PAGES NOT EVEN INCLUDING THE DAMN NOVELLAS.
anyway I'm calling these books 1) the mediocre one 2) the angsty one 3) the abusive love triangle one 4) the really hella entertaining but also probably the shittiest one.
Book one is just mediocre and underdeveloped. It's super entertaining and short though.
Book two is maybe the one that was the least bad, looking back?? Yes, the romance plot becomes a love triangle between a vampire and a wolf. But the new guy, Jacob, is actually really nice in here. And actually, some bits of this aren't terrible. Rosalie's backstory shows up here, and it's one of the coolest things I've ever read. More on Edward's family later.
Book three is actually the worst one. 1) Jacob's actually-kind-of-nice character got destroyed. Of course. 2) Edward went from slightly creepy to literally abusive. 3) And it was all just really, really boring. Did anyone notice that nothing happened until like page 500?
Book four... oh man. Book four deserves five stars just because I somehow found it entertaining enough to finish and rush through, despite being SEVEN HUNDRED FUCKING PAGES LONG. even though the conclusion is bullshit and that stuff with the blood-drinking was creepy.
Anyway, let's stop talking about the series and just get to my general opinions.
NOW LET ME DISCOURSE A LITTLE BIT
Twilight gets a really bad rap, and I'm honestly not sure it's deserved. I have read way worse romance in YA lit. Bella and Edward's relationship isn't perfect, by any means. He's a bit overly controlling and they've got a severe case of instalove. But y'all have romanticized far worse. Twilight is somewhat addictive trash with a romance that is actually less terrible than some of the ones I've seen in ya lit. Remember Article 5?? You know, actual physical abuse?? A lot of it?? This entire romantic arc is stereotypical, but Edward isn't a terrible guy - a bit overprotective, but he doesn't treat Bella completely terribly.
I do have to say that the next two books are a little worse in terms of feminism. New Moon romanticizes wanting to die without your boyfriend (to be fair, he wants to die without her too, but that's ALSO terrible!!) Eclipse romanticizes being overprotective and enforces toxic masculinity. And Breaking Dawn has some terrible shit to say about abortion, as well as some shitty connotations with those BRUISES. And don't even get me started on Leah's menopause thing.
LET'S YELL!! A LITTLE BIT!!
Uhhhhhh what are my opinions. Do I even have opinions.
Oh yes, Edward and Bella's relationship. Sigh. It wasn't actually that bad in book one from what I remember; he's weird, but he's somewhat less creepy. He's actually not particularly creepy here either, it's just that this book perpetrates some really crappy ideas. This series is actually way less antifeminist than people act like it is; I have read far, far worse in terms of feminism. But being willing to die just to hallucinate your ex-boyfriend is not okay. Given that both Edward AND Bella feel this way, I don't even class this as a sexism issue; this book portrays a flat-out unhealthy, toxic relationship for both of them.
Anyway, I love Edward's family kind of a lot?? Rosalie's backstory is one of the coolest things I've ever read. I liked that Bella showed sympathy for her and didn't just hate her for being pretty. There's also more backstory for Carlisle and the rest of the vampire family, which is really interesting and entertaining. Why did this book have to be about Bella and Edward??
BEFORE YOU GO: Please read Natalie's review about how much the cast regretted Twilight.
WOW THIS SERIES IS REALLY FUCKING LONG??
IT'S TWO THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED SIXTY FUCKING PAGES NOT EVEN INCLUDING THE DAMN NOVELLAS.
anyway I'm calling these books 1) the mediocre one 2) the angsty one 3) the abusive love triangle one 4) the really hella entertaining but also probably the shittiest one.
Book one is just mediocre and underdeveloped. It's super entertaining and short though.
Book two is maybe the one that was the least bad, looking back?? Yes, the romance plot becomes a love triangle between a vampire and a wolf. But the new guy, Jacob, is actually really nice in here. And actually, some bits of this aren't terrible. Rosalie's backstory shows up here, and it's one of the coolest things I've ever read. More on Edward's family later.
Book three is actually the worst one. 1) Jacob's actually-kind-of-nice character got destroyed. Of course. 2) Edward went from slightly creepy to literally abusive. 3) And it was all just really, really boring. Did anyone notice that nothing happened until like page 500?
Book four... oh man. Book four deserves five stars just because I somehow found it entertaining enough to finish and rush through, despite being SEVEN HUNDRED FUCKING PAGES LONG. even though the conclusion is bullshit and that stuff with the blood-drinking was creepy.
Anyway, let's stop talking about the series and just get to my general opinions.
NOW LET ME DISCOURSE A LITTLE BIT
Twilight gets a really bad rap, and I'm honestly not sure it's deserved. I have read way worse romance in YA lit. Bella and Edward's relationship isn't perfect, by any means. He's a bit overly controlling and they've got a severe case of instalove. But y'all have romanticized far worse. Twilight is somewhat addictive trash with a romance that is actually less terrible than some of the ones I've seen in ya lit. Remember Article 5?? You know, actual physical abuse?? A lot of it?? This entire romantic arc is stereotypical, but Edward isn't a terrible guy - a bit overprotective, but he doesn't treat Bella completely terribly.
I do have to say that the next two books are a little worse in terms of feminism. New Moon romanticizes wanting to die without your boyfriend (to be fair, he wants to die without her too, but that's ALSO terrible!!) Eclipse romanticizes being overprotective and enforces toxic masculinity. And Breaking Dawn has some terrible shit to say about abortion, as well as some shitty connotations with those BRUISES. And don't even get me started on Leah's menopause thing.
LET'S YELL!! A LITTLE BIT!!
Uhhhhhh what are my opinions. Do I even have opinions.
Oh yes, Edward and Bella's relationship. Sigh. It wasn't actually that bad in book one from what I remember; he's weird, but he's somewhat less creepy. He's actually not particularly creepy here either, it's just that this book perpetrates some really crappy ideas. This series is actually way less antifeminist than people act like it is; I have read far, far worse in terms of feminism. But being willing to die just to hallucinate your ex-boyfriend is not okay. Given that both Edward AND Bella feel this way, I don't even class this as a sexism issue; this book portrays a flat-out unhealthy, toxic relationship for both of them.
Anyway, I love Edward's family kind of a lot?? Rosalie's backstory is one of the coolest things I've ever read. I liked that Bella showed sympathy for her and didn't just hate her for being pretty. There's also more backstory for Carlisle and the rest of the vampire family, which is really interesting and entertaining. Why did this book have to be about Bella and Edward??
BEFORE YOU GO: Please read Natalie's review about how much the cast regretted Twilight.
February 26, 2010
Thanks to a bet (involving things I would rather not disclose) I had to read the entire Twilight Saga (all four books). I accomplished the feat in four days back to back (no DNF option). I already had the books on my TBR pile, but I kept finding excuses not to read them. And I was right to dawdle.
Instead of writing the review for each and every book in this "saga", I decided to put all my eggs in one basket, so to speak, and write only one review, listing only the three major gripes.
First: The first person POV was tiresome, though I have to give kudos to the writer for the knack of portraying the convoluted, self-absorbed, manic-depressive, somewhat hysterical thoughts of a teenager. And that’s sarcasm if someone didn’t get it.
Second: The writing and style made the books hard to read. Too much crap, too many weeds in the field, if you catch my drift. Were the editors out for coffee?
And thanks to all the crap clogging the story and boosting the page count the whole thing was just too damn long. With a good edit you could cram everything up in one (albeit a little thick) book.
And third, and the biggest problem for me in these books, the YA take on the vampire lore. *shudder* I love paranormal romance, especially the books dealing with vampires. The creatures of the night are tall, dark, handsome, buff, sexy as hell, exuding eroticism through every pore, not a gangly, frail-looking teenager that glows in the sun and drinks animal blood. Vampires are supposed to drink human blood, burst into flame in sunlight and have lots and lots of sex (possibly while drinking blood from their partner and chosen one).
If I can’t have a yummy, hunky, sexy vampire sipping from his lover, what’s there to live for?
I think it says a lot that I liked the crappy movies better than the books on with they were based. Bella should’ve been sucked dry in the first couple of pages and Edward dismembered in the next couple.
I didn’t like these books, I don’t think the change in POV could’ve improved them, I don’t recommend them, I won’t re-read them, and I certainly will not make a bet like that ever, ever again. I do learn from my mistakes (sometimes).
Instead of writing the review for each and every book in this "saga", I decided to put all my eggs in one basket, so to speak, and write only one review, listing only the three major gripes.
First: The first person POV was tiresome, though I have to give kudos to the writer for the knack of portraying the convoluted, self-absorbed, manic-depressive, somewhat hysterical thoughts of a teenager. And that’s sarcasm if someone didn’t get it.
Second: The writing and style made the books hard to read. Too much crap, too many weeds in the field, if you catch my drift. Were the editors out for coffee?
And thanks to all the crap clogging the story and boosting the page count the whole thing was just too damn long. With a good edit you could cram everything up in one (albeit a little thick) book.
And third, and the biggest problem for me in these books, the YA take on the vampire lore. *shudder* I love paranormal romance, especially the books dealing with vampires. The creatures of the night are tall, dark, handsome, buff, sexy as hell, exuding eroticism through every pore, not a gangly, frail-looking teenager that glows in the sun and drinks animal blood. Vampires are supposed to drink human blood, burst into flame in sunlight and have lots and lots of sex (possibly while drinking blood from their partner and chosen one).
If I can’t have a yummy, hunky, sexy vampire sipping from his lover, what’s there to live for?
I think it says a lot that I liked the crappy movies better than the books on with they were based. Bella should’ve been sucked dry in the first couple of pages and Edward dismembered in the next couple.
I didn’t like these books, I don’t think the change in POV could’ve improved them, I don’t recommend them, I won’t re-read them, and I certainly will not make a bet like that ever, ever again. I do learn from my mistakes (sometimes).
May 11, 2016
No se que nota ponerle a los 4 libros juntos, porque para mi el primer libro es aguantable, el segundo libro es asqueroso, el tercer libro esta muy bien y el cuarto libro esta muy bien hasta el final, el cual es una mierda.
Personalmente yo si le tengo que recomendar a alguien que mire esta saga le diría lo siguiente, que lo mire multiplataforma de la siguiente manera: el primer libro léelo, luna nueva mira la película (o leerte el spoiler que puse en mi reseña, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... para la gente que no sea capaz de aguantar esta trama), tercer libro leerlo, y cuarto libro leerlo hasta llegar a cuando aparezca la chica capaz de ver el futuro, entonces pásate a la película y mira el final de amanecer (parte 2).
Vamos las cosas que me evitan ponerle buena nota son el libro completo de luna nueva y el final que tiene el ultimo libro, sinceramente es de los pocos libros que cambian un poquito el final en la película, y la película tiene mejor final...
Así que creo valorando todo esto, la saga al completo creo que se merece una nota de:
6/10 (3 stars)
Mas reviews en https://www.goodreads.com/review/list... dar a like si te a sido útil esta información, también puedes seguirme si tienes interés en ver mas reseñas como esta y si tenéis cualquier duda, queréis debatir algo, avisarme de algún error o cualquier otra cosa lo podéis hacer en los comentarios. ^^
Personalmente yo si le tengo que recomendar a alguien que mire esta saga le diría lo siguiente, que lo mire multiplataforma de la siguiente manera: el primer libro léelo, luna nueva mira la película (o leerte el spoiler que puse en mi reseña, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... para la gente que no sea capaz de aguantar esta trama), tercer libro leerlo, y cuarto libro leerlo hasta llegar a cuando aparezca la chica capaz de ver el futuro, entonces pásate a la película y mira el final de amanecer (parte 2).
Vamos las cosas que me evitan ponerle buena nota son el libro completo de luna nueva y el final que tiene el ultimo libro, sinceramente es de los pocos libros que cambian un poquito el final en la película, y la película tiene mejor final...
Así que creo valorando todo esto, la saga al completo creo que se merece una nota de:
6/10 (3 stars)
Mas reviews en https://www.goodreads.com/review/list... dar a like si te a sido útil esta información, también puedes seguirme si tienes interés en ver mas reseñas como esta y si tenéis cualquier duda, queréis debatir algo, avisarme de algún error o cualquier otra cosa lo podéis hacer en los comentarios. ^^
July 20, 2018
¿Quiere saber más de estos cuatro libros, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
April 23, 2008
TWILIGHT IS AWESOME!!!! GO TWILIGHT!!! Alice is soooo my favorite. Cant wait till the movie!!!!
February 23, 2013
Before I talk about what many expect to hear from those who didn't like the series, I would like to say that this series actually had SOME moments of redeeming qualities. Alice is an amazing character. She is sweet, she is likeable and it's too bad she didn't become more of a main character. Jacob's character had a potential to be well-written and his tribe and perspective was sometimes interesting, but his likeability died for me in the 4th book for a reason that is a spoiler. That being said, the 4th book unfortunately had late characters introduced that would have made it a lot more interesting had they been introduced early on.
Despite having extreme difficulty reading through this series, I wanted to have a fair read through the entire thing. The Bella/Edward relationship was unhealthy. Unhealthier than Romeo and Juliet (which keep in mind, is a classic for it's tragedy, not it's romance). Over the course of the series, Bella becomes more subservient and spoiled. Edward is the controlling sugar-daddy and Bella is the plain, book-knowledge dark girl high school stereotype. I say "book-knowledge" because her actions lack an unfortunate amount of common sense. Her attraction for Edward is immediate and superficial. If you go back over the stories and count the amount of sentences where she talks about how Edward looks, I guarantee that it would fill nearly one book.
The amount of sentences where she talks about any other qualities of him that she likes would probably equal one paragraph. This relationship is a senseless shallow one that has no foundation. They are both prone to entirely destructive behavior if they don't get their way, which comes off as two untreated people with bi-polar disorder. The language of this book can be randomly interesting, but most of the time it is repetitive with some of the worst words and filled with word misuse (dictionary abuse some might like to call). The descriptions are also terribly unbalanced. The moments where you would love descriptions there are none and the moments where you just want a scene to end (her sitting in a forest, just thinking) it drags on for half to a full chapter.
Now that being said, if you get extremely curious over destructive relationships you might enjoy it, knowing it's still unhealthy, but please for heavens sake... do not glorify this series as a healthy relationship example. In the end, the action of this series may pique some interest, but the ending of each action sequence fell short, especially in books 3 and 4. It was very anti-climactic.
Despite having extreme difficulty reading through this series, I wanted to have a fair read through the entire thing. The Bella/Edward relationship was unhealthy. Unhealthier than Romeo and Juliet (which keep in mind, is a classic for it's tragedy, not it's romance). Over the course of the series, Bella becomes more subservient and spoiled. Edward is the controlling sugar-daddy and Bella is the plain, book-knowledge dark girl high school stereotype. I say "book-knowledge" because her actions lack an unfortunate amount of common sense. Her attraction for Edward is immediate and superficial. If you go back over the stories and count the amount of sentences where she talks about how Edward looks, I guarantee that it would fill nearly one book.
The amount of sentences where she talks about any other qualities of him that she likes would probably equal one paragraph. This relationship is a senseless shallow one that has no foundation. They are both prone to entirely destructive behavior if they don't get their way, which comes off as two untreated people with bi-polar disorder. The language of this book can be randomly interesting, but most of the time it is repetitive with some of the worst words and filled with word misuse (dictionary abuse some might like to call). The descriptions are also terribly unbalanced. The moments where you would love descriptions there are none and the moments where you just want a scene to end (her sitting in a forest, just thinking) it drags on for half to a full chapter.
Now that being said, if you get extremely curious over destructive relationships you might enjoy it, knowing it's still unhealthy, but please for heavens sake... do not glorify this series as a healthy relationship example. In the end, the action of this series may pique some interest, but the ending of each action sequence fell short, especially in books 3 and 4. It was very anti-climactic.
April 9, 2012
I used to think these books sounded stupid and refused to read them, making fun of anyone who did. However, when my nineteen-year-old self got dumped a few years ago and I was looking for a distraction, I decided "you can't knock it till you try it, right?" I read the whole series front to back in 4 days (which speaks more to the lack of complexity of this series than it does to my reading abilities) and here's my verdict:
This series is about as entertaining as reading a twelve-year-old girl's diary. It's very absorbing and absolutely hilarious at times, but it doesn't do much for me on an intellectual level. The main character, Bella, does nothing but whine and complain about everyone being in love with her. She's a useless human being and she doesn't have much of a personality and certainly doesn't have a mind of her own. When her boyfriend dumps her in the second book, she turns into an even more useless lump by hiding from everyone for months on end. This sends the message to teenage girls that there is nothing more valuable in life than having a boyfriend. Meanwhile, Edward, the supposed love of her seventeen-year-old life (like anyone knows who they're meant to be with at seventeen), is a creepy, possessive stalker who does nothing but obsess over Bella day and night. I'm sorry to all the fangirls out there, but the way Edward "loves" Bella is not a true representation of love in my book. That whole watching her while she sleeps thing - awkward?! In the meantime, Bella emotionally tortures her other suitor, Jacob, by playing games with his affections. In my opinion, he's a much more likable character than either Edward or Bella, until of course in the fourth book when he imprints on Edward and Bella's newborn child (pedophilia anyone?).
Although I will admit that these were absorbing and entertaining, they should not qualify as literature because of the simplicity of the writing. A seven-year-old could read these were it not for content above their level.
This series is about as entertaining as reading a twelve-year-old girl's diary. It's very absorbing and absolutely hilarious at times, but it doesn't do much for me on an intellectual level. The main character, Bella, does nothing but whine and complain about everyone being in love with her. She's a useless human being and she doesn't have much of a personality and certainly doesn't have a mind of her own. When her boyfriend dumps her in the second book, she turns into an even more useless lump by hiding from everyone for months on end. This sends the message to teenage girls that there is nothing more valuable in life than having a boyfriend. Meanwhile, Edward, the supposed love of her seventeen-year-old life (like anyone knows who they're meant to be with at seventeen), is a creepy, possessive stalker who does nothing but obsess over Bella day and night. I'm sorry to all the fangirls out there, but the way Edward "loves" Bella is not a true representation of love in my book. That whole watching her while she sleeps thing - awkward?! In the meantime, Bella emotionally tortures her other suitor, Jacob, by playing games with his affections. In my opinion, he's a much more likable character than either Edward or Bella, until of course in the fourth book when he imprints on Edward and Bella's newborn child (pedophilia anyone?).
Although I will admit that these were absorbing and entertaining, they should not qualify as literature because of the simplicity of the writing. A seven-year-old could read these were it not for content above their level.
February 6, 2022
I read New Moon in five days. That was the fastest book I've ever read. And it's a big book. Enough said.
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They were really awesome books. Bella and Edward were beautiful. I absolutely adore Edward!! He's my favorite!! I love Robert Pattinson as Edward. I have to admit, I thought Edward was so freekin hot when I was little! HAHA!! And of course the lovely Alice was my fav!! And JASPER!!!!! And OMG, EMMETT!!! Emmett was so funnnnnyyyyyy!!!!!! These characters!! I wasn't really a fan of Rosalie to be honest.
Renesmee was such a good name; mixing Esme and Renée's names together! LOVE IT!! Eclipse was definitely my favorite of the whole saga.
The wedding was so good!!!! That was probably one of my favorite parts to read and watch- the movies- and of course the honeymoon!!! OMG!!! THAT WAS A BEAUTIFUL THING TO READ AND WATCH!!! MY FAV!!! EDWARD IS SO ROMANTIC!!!!! HE'S A VAMPIRE TOOOO!!!!!! OMG!! I have a thing for vampires...just saying...(just look at Baz Pitch!- Carry On and Wayward Son)
I need to give these book another re-read!!
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They were really awesome books. Bella and Edward were beautiful. I absolutely adore Edward!! He's my favorite!! I love Robert Pattinson as Edward. I have to admit, I thought Edward was so freekin hot when I was little! HAHA!! And of course the lovely Alice was my fav!! And JASPER!!!!! And OMG, EMMETT!!! Emmett was so funnnnnyyyyyy!!!!!! These characters!! I wasn't really a fan of Rosalie to be honest.
Renesmee was such a good name; mixing Esme and Renée's names together! LOVE IT!! Eclipse was definitely my favorite of the whole saga.
The wedding was so good!!!! That was probably one of my favorite parts to read and watch- the movies- and of course the honeymoon!!! OMG!!! THAT WAS A BEAUTIFUL THING TO READ AND WATCH!!! MY FAV!!! EDWARD IS SO ROMANTIC!!!!! HE'S A VAMPIRE TOOOO!!!!!! OMG!! I have a thing for vampires...just saying...(just look at Baz Pitch!- Carry On and Wayward Son)
I need to give these book another re-read!!
February 25, 2009
The book that I'm writing this about is New moon, the second book in the series.
When I read this book, I literally cried for 30 minutes. It's really sad, but you still love it, you love it so much that you get depressed with Bella (the main character). But you also get happy and hopeful when she thinks of hanging out with Jacob Black. It's about love, but it's also action packed when Bella finds out Edward thinks she killed herself and they have to fly to Italy. It was a close call. This book is inspiring and I just can't get enough of it! I can't wait until Breaking Dawn is released!
When I read this book, I literally cried for 30 minutes. It's really sad, but you still love it, you love it so much that you get depressed with Bella (the main character). But you also get happy and hopeful when she thinks of hanging out with Jacob Black. It's about love, but it's also action packed when Bella finds out Edward thinks she killed herself and they have to fly to Italy. It was a close call. This book is inspiring and I just can't get enough of it! I can't wait until Breaking Dawn is released!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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