Kindle Book Review: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read Twilight at first. I like vampires, but it’s a teen novel. The hype around it (or at least the release of the latest book in the series, Breaking Dawn) was Harry-Potter-like, so I figured there had to be something to it. The movie being made of it looks interesting from the few stills I had seen so far (and I make a habit of reading a novel before seeing the movie). However, it stayed at the bottom of my reading list until a good friend recommended it. She even offered to send me the sequels as soon as she was done because she wanted to discuss the books with me. That’s when I finally bought Twilight from the Kindle store (only $6!).
It was an unbelievably fast read. I set aside the other Kindle book I was reading (Bleak House by Charles Dickens, not nearly as exciting as teenage vampires) and read it in a few days. I enjoyed the novel, and I plan on reading the sequels, but I did have several major issues with the book. First, though, I’ll share what I enjoyed about it.
I really liked Bella. In fact, I had several moments of “oh-my-god-she’s-just-like-me” while reading it. For example, she actually enjoys reading the books assigned to her in high school English classes, which was probably one of the things that made me such a geek (and/or good student) in high school. I thought she was a strong character and I’m interested to see how Kirsten Stewart portrays her in the movie. (Personally, I picture her more like Ellen Page – a feisty, smart, and quick-witted girl – but a friend of mine picture her more like Thora Birch.)
I liked Stephanie Meyer’s handling of the vampire mythos. She kept enough of the general mythology but still managed to add her own touches to it, which is important. I especially liked vampire baseball (picture a family of vampires with superstrength, superspeed, and heightened senses and you might get the idea), although the entire time I was reading that scene I couldn’t help but think Meyer knew she’d need her version of Quidditch. I also liked Meyer’s creative reasoning for why vampires aren’t often seen in sunlight (to some it might be considered a spoiler, so I won’t mention it here, but I’m sure a quick Google search could tell you).
The issues I had with the novel revolve around the relationship between Bella and Edward. From the outset, Bella has an unnatural obsession with Edward. In theory this could be explained away by the fact that he’s a vampire, so this isn’t just any boyfriend. Her obsession with him borders on worship, and that bothers me. She’s seventeen-years-old in the first book, and it’s unhealthy for a seventeen-year-old girl to be so dependent on her boyfriend. It shows a bad example for the young girls the book is aimed at. I’m not a feminist or some crazy anti-men lady, but I believe that the way in which Bella views Edward is unhealthy.
Another friend (two, actually) pointed out another slightly disturbing aspect of their relationship (which could be considered spoilerish, so skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to read it) – we learn at one point that Edward doesn’t sleep, but rather gets into Bella’s room and watches her sleep. As if that weren’t creepy enough, when Bella finds out, she thinks it’s the most flattering thing ever to happen to her. As a former seventeen-year-old girl, I think this twisted view of relationships needs to be carefully handled. Parents whose teen daughters are reading Twilight might want to discuss with them the difference between Bella’s vampire love, and a real life relationship. Stalking is not ok. Worshipping your boyfriend is not ok.
That all being said, I did enjoy the basic premise of the book. The action scenes are fast-paced and entertaining. There are definitely several edge-of-your-seat moments that you don’t always find in teen novels. I’m looking forward to reading the next few books. I hesitate to recommend it to anyone in particular because most adults don’t enjoy teen novels (with, of course, the exception of Harry Potter). However, if you’re a fan of vampire stories, or if you’re looking for a fast fluff read, this could be your book.
You can pick up Twilight for the Kindle
