I finally read Twilight, the book series that seems to have become the new Harry Potter (in terms of hard-core, obsessive fans) among girls in their pre- or early teens. With the combination of facebook flairs and my cousin and roommate both gushing about the books, I finally gave in and borrowed the book from my cousin Melanie.
My take?
Eh. I've read better.
In all honesty, the book struck me as not much more than the wish-fulfilling writing of a teenage girl. Its the story that any girl wants to live: she moves to a new town, meets an impossibly hot guy, falls in love with him, and finds out that he loves her too. Yes, there is a complication - he's a vampire, and even though he is a "vegetarian" (he eats animals, not humans), her blood just happens to be "his brand of heroin." However, everything else is just too soap opera-y and mushy for me. I felt like I was in a teen girl's hormone-induced daydream.
Other complaints: The beginning of the novel was very slow. I have nothing against description and setting of the scene, but the pacing must be right as well. In this book, it took forever for something to really happen. There was also much too much explanation... over and over and over again. I wanted to shake the characters and tell them to get on with it. And Edward's Peter Parker/Clark Kent bit - "I love you, but I can't be with you because you might be hurt" - would have been fine if he had stuck with it, rather than doing his "Now I want to be with you, now you should stay away" thing. It really grated on my nerves. She loves you, you love her, just go with it. And Bella struck me as really whiny. I live in Washington... its not THAT bad. Suck it up, girl.
Good points: The novel did pick up eventually, and once it did, it was difficult to put down. I admit, the story is strangely addicting. I also came to appreciate the psychological dilemma: the one person that you love is also the one person you could hurt the most (or, in Bella's case, the one who could hurt you the most). It isn't logical, but then, love is hardly ever logical. And Edward, for all his flaws (and he has them - but that might just be because some of the things he said reminded me of my ex) is still very, very dreamy. I wouldn't mind finding a boyfriend like him. I liked the rest of his family as well.
Bottom line: Twilight is a good book for teenage girls (or women who are young at heart). If you don't fit in that category, you'd do best to walk right on by the Twilight display at your local bookstore.
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