Saturday, January 3, 2009
Twilight: Books One and Two
I just finished reading the first two books in the Twilight series, and my head is spinning!
Every once in a while there is a book (or series) that *everyone* is talking about. This happened with Harry Potter, and I refused to get sucked into the hype. I told everyone I wasn't interested in Fantasy novels, and didn't care about a book about teenage wizards. Good golly, was I mistaken. When I finally read the first HP book, I didn't leave my apartment until I was done, and immediately went out to buy the second two. Once I was done with the third book, waiting for the next one to be published was torture, as were the months of waiting for the fifth, sixth, and seventh. I was an addict.
This same phenomenon seems to have taken place with the Twilight books. I can't go a day without seeing someone on Facebook commenting on staying up all night reading, or giant displays of Twilight board games and stickers at Borders, or Robert Pattinson appearing on Ellen, or People magazine showing pictures of Kristen Stewart smoking pot on her front porch. These books are everywhere, and the movie is, too.
What did I think of the first two books? Hm. Let me preface this review with a disclaimer that I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Harry Potter series, and since the publicity and excitement over that and this seem to be equal, I was very excited to read these books.
But I was disappointed.
The writing is barely at the level of a high school senior's English Lit final. The characters are weak, and the main character's (Bella's) obsession with Edward is exhausting. As a future parent, I would not want my daughter to read this story of an extreme (and dangerous) crush, and as a teacher, I would not want my students to, either. Yes, my students are 6 years old. But they will eventually be 13, and I would not be comfortable with them reading it.
It's one thing to write, or read, a teenage romance novel. This is not the first and will not be the last. Books about vampires and romance have been written before, and I'm sure some of them have been quite good. But this series is HUGELY popular among young teenage girls, and I don't like the idea that these books encourage putting your entire life on the line for young love. I don't want to say too much (seeing as I already tagged this a spoiler-free review!) but I just couldn't separate the entertainment value from the message that teens are exposed to. Young girls need strong female role models, not weak ones. They're exposed to plenty of those already.
Overall? I enjoyed the first two books and will read the next two, since my curiosity is piqued and I would like to see what happens next. I will also go see the movie, I'm sure. But let's just say that by the time my children are teenagers, I hope that books for young adults are a bit more responsibly written.
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You know what? I loved the books, but I am saying that as a happily married adult woman who happens to enjoy a good story. If I were 16 and read these, well I can only hope I had a good enough head on my shoulders to see past the strange and conflicting messages of this book.
ReplyDeleteI must agree that Stephanie Myers writes like a high school student with a thesaurus.
Other messages (besides putting your life on the line for young love) that had me scratching my head: abstinence only if you're old fashioned (Bella is sex crazed), Bella had zero goals in life before or after Edward (college was plan B and there was no talk of any career she ever thought she might like), and the idea that there are 17 year old boys as perfect as Edward Cullen (hello unreal expectations).
Anyway, enjoy the next 2 books (but I must warn you the writing is at it's worst in book 4).
-Patty&nick from the nest.
Good points, Patty! Sara (Stinkerpants) and I were discussing this yesterday, and she commented on the overuse of the word "smoldered." Ms. Myers DEFINITELY could have used a thesaurus there!
ReplyDeleteWell, as you know: my thoughts exactly.
ReplyDelete