At the beginning of the summer, I was determined to read the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. My friend Pam knew about my obsession with vampires and vampire fiction and she insisted that I read these books. She made a particular point of telling me that I would enjoy the main vampire character Edward.
In July I had a four day break from Graduate school to visit my parents and I took the three existing Twilight books with me. I read them start to finish in four days with about twelve hours to spare.
Twilight itself spends a lot of time on setup. Meyer spends most of the book following Bella as she discovers the rules of the vampire mythology and exploring her surroundings. In fact Meyer spends so much time on character development, relationships, and Bella's surroundings that when the final conflict comes at the end of the book it feels rushed and like it is part of a completely different story. However, despite a few shortcomings I read through Twilight breathlessly almost skipping pages in my eagerness to find out more about the characters. The ending was adequite though it left me hungry for more.
Despite the fact that it was three o clock in the morning I immediately moved onto New Moon, and I devoured this one just as voraciously. While many of my friends were less impressed with New Moon I found it compelling and even more character driven than Twilight. Jacob's character is fully introduced in the second book and the book is the better for it. I was particularly impressed with Meyer's ability to not only convey emotion but to really make the reader feel along with Bella. Many people call Bella whiney, and I agree but in this book I was crying because she was so hurt I found myself hoping along with her and feeling her anxiety. I was particularly impressed because anyone who has been young and in love (unless you married your high school sweetheart) has that kind of pain rattling around somewhere in their scarred psyche. The pain Bella is feeling in New Moon is so real it made me wimper and cry right along with Bella. My major thought for this book was that Meyer has a real talent for bringing out the inner sixteen year old girl in all of us (even men).
Again, Meyer rushes her ending and the last 100 pages offer such emotional catharsis that I had trouble holding onto the important plot points that were presented.
I had to take a breather for a day and visit the Atlanta aquarium (a fun trip I recommend the Beluga Whales). However, after two days and 8 hours of sleep I was finally ready to tackle Eclipse. This book was one of my favorites, lacking the heart wrenching angst of New Moon, Eclipse did a wonderful job of showing a love triangle, developing the relationship between Bella and Edward and expanding our knowledge of the rest of the Cullen clan. Even Jacob got more development though most of the book I was shouting at him to just get over it and stop complaining already. Also, Eclipse seemed to break Meyer out of her pattern of rushing the ending. The plot for this one was built slowly (although most readers figured out some major points before Meyer revealed them) and developed thoughtfully. Edward and Bella are even more in love and Jacob become more bitter and snipish as the book goes on. While I enjoyed Alice in the other books she is simply delightful in Eclipse. Again I found myself disagreeing with the ending but for different reasons, the ending was not rushed and the action was easier to follow and made more sense. However, the place that Meyer chose to end the book seemed a wedding and a honeymoon too short. Ending where she did seemed cut off and left the reader hanging. Not that I wasn't hanging on her every word and wanting more when I was finished with Eclipse.
Now many people argue that Bella is a bad role model. And frankly, she's no Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But, to all of those people, I ask you " Do any of you remember being a 16 year old girl?" I know I was whiney, pathetic and insecure when I was sixteen, can any of you really look back and say any different? Sixteen year old girls can really relate to this character and the concept of waiting until you are in love or married to have sex is certainly one that could use to be offered to girls more often. Bella is a pain and she whines but we all love her and relate to her anyway. (at least in the first three books, Breaking Dawn to be discussed in a later post).
I highly recommend these books to teenagers and adults alike and I also recommend them to anyone who has caught the Buffy bug and wants more vampires ( Don't worry I have other recommendations for you that will come along later, just start with these for now)
Grades:
Twilight : B+ New Moon: A- Eclipse: A-
In July I had a four day break from Graduate school to visit my parents and I took the three existing Twilight books with me. I read them start to finish in four days with about twelve hours to spare.
Twilight itself spends a lot of time on setup. Meyer spends most of the book following Bella as she discovers the rules of the vampire mythology and exploring her surroundings. In fact Meyer spends so much time on character development, relationships, and Bella's surroundings that when the final conflict comes at the end of the book it feels rushed and like it is part of a completely different story. However, despite a few shortcomings I read through Twilight breathlessly almost skipping pages in my eagerness to find out more about the characters. The ending was adequite though it left me hungry for more.
Despite the fact that it was three o clock in the morning I immediately moved onto New Moon, and I devoured this one just as voraciously. While many of my friends were less impressed with New Moon I found it compelling and even more character driven than Twilight. Jacob's character is fully introduced in the second book and the book is the better for it. I was particularly impressed with Meyer's ability to not only convey emotion but to really make the reader feel along with Bella. Many people call Bella whiney, and I agree but in this book I was crying because she was so hurt I found myself hoping along with her and feeling her anxiety. I was particularly impressed because anyone who has been young and in love (unless you married your high school sweetheart) has that kind of pain rattling around somewhere in their scarred psyche. The pain Bella is feeling in New Moon is so real it made me wimper and cry right along with Bella. My major thought for this book was that Meyer has a real talent for bringing out the inner sixteen year old girl in all of us (even men).
Again, Meyer rushes her ending and the last 100 pages offer such emotional catharsis that I had trouble holding onto the important plot points that were presented.
I had to take a breather for a day and visit the Atlanta aquarium (a fun trip I recommend the Beluga Whales). However, after two days and 8 hours of sleep I was finally ready to tackle Eclipse. This book was one of my favorites, lacking the heart wrenching angst of New Moon, Eclipse did a wonderful job of showing a love triangle, developing the relationship between Bella and Edward and expanding our knowledge of the rest of the Cullen clan. Even Jacob got more development though most of the book I was shouting at him to just get over it and stop complaining already. Also, Eclipse seemed to break Meyer out of her pattern of rushing the ending. The plot for this one was built slowly (although most readers figured out some major points before Meyer revealed them) and developed thoughtfully. Edward and Bella are even more in love and Jacob become more bitter and snipish as the book goes on. While I enjoyed Alice in the other books she is simply delightful in Eclipse. Again I found myself disagreeing with the ending but for different reasons, the ending was not rushed and the action was easier to follow and made more sense. However, the place that Meyer chose to end the book seemed a wedding and a honeymoon too short. Ending where she did seemed cut off and left the reader hanging. Not that I wasn't hanging on her every word and wanting more when I was finished with Eclipse.
Now many people argue that Bella is a bad role model. And frankly, she's no Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But, to all of those people, I ask you " Do any of you remember being a 16 year old girl?" I know I was whiney, pathetic and insecure when I was sixteen, can any of you really look back and say any different? Sixteen year old girls can really relate to this character and the concept of waiting until you are in love or married to have sex is certainly one that could use to be offered to girls more often. Bella is a pain and she whines but we all love her and relate to her anyway. (at least in the first three books, Breaking Dawn to be discussed in a later post).
I highly recommend these books to teenagers and adults alike and I also recommend them to anyone who has caught the Buffy bug and wants more vampires ( Don't worry I have other recommendations for you that will come along later, just start with these for now)
Grades:
Twilight : B+ New Moon: A- Eclipse: A-
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