Another Book Review . . . So Soon?

You might be wondering how I could be writing another book review so soon—don’t I have a house to clean, children to feed, Christmas presents to wrap, and a husband to keep in line?

The answer is, I finally caved in and read Twilight. Let me explain. . . .

When I first heard about Twilight from my sister Anita, I was really interested. Anita loved the book (and the rest of the series, too), and she told me it was written by a BYU graduate. She warned that the book was a bit cheesy, but she said it would be fun to read.



I am always looking for a good book, so soon after I’d talked to Anita I went to our local bookstore and found Twilight. But when I read the back cover, I didn’t think there was any way I could read something so cheesy: “About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him . . . that thirsted for my blood. . . .” Come on! I can’t read stuff like that. I put the book back on the shelf and left.

I did look up the book's author, Stephanie Meyer, and found that she'd been an English major at BYU at the same time I was--she looked a bit familiar, too, but I definitely didn't know her.

Time went on—the movie came out, and everyone was talking about it, but still—“thirsted for my blood”? I don’t think so.

Finally, I got an email from Chapters saying that Twilight had outsold Harry Potter (which I still find very hard to believe, by the way). Anyway, I decided it was time for me to get an opinion about the book--so the next time I was at the grocery store, I picked up an inexpensive copy. I was tempted to go through the self-serve check-out to avoid having the cashier wonder why a mother in her 30s would want to read a love story about vampires--but then I thought, “It’s close to Christmas—maybe she’ll think I’m buying it for ‘a friend.’”

Well, a few days later I picked up the book and read the first chapter—and after that, I was hooked. I could hardly put the novel down. Of course, I only read at night while my children were sleeping (but not while lying in a coffin, don’t worry!).

I thought I’d just share a few things I liked and didn’t like about the book, along with a little theory I have about why the book is so addictive.

First, things I liked:

1. The writer’s style and tone. This book is easy to read--not only because it’s adolescent literature but also because of the author’s smooth writing style. The descriptions are incredibly visual (I can see why this book would be a natural choice for a movie), and some of the novel’s early passages (such as the scene where the protagonist first sees the vampire group in the school cafeteria) are striking—this is what made me want to keep reading. I also picked up on a sort of mysterious, dark and eerie tone in the first chapter that intrigued me throughout the book.

2. The protagonist is easy to relate to. Bella Swan considers herself clumsy, bad at sports, socially inept, pretty much completely substandard in every way (except academically), and--once she sees Edward--obsessive. We don’t know anyone like that, do we?

3. The hero. I’m reminded of a line in Anne of Green Gables. Anne is explaining that she is not interested in one of the boys in town because he is “too good.” When asked if she’d prefer a wicked man, Anne says that she’d like someone who “could be wicked but wouldn’t.” Edward Cullen is the epitome of this. Of course, in real life I think a man who wouldn’t hurt a fly is best, but in novels, it’s more interesting to have that “wicked” potential.

4. The whole idea of vampires, especially this humanitarian group, was very interesting. I’m thinking of reading Bram Stoker's Dracula--which, if I remember correctly, is considered a literary classic. Will this redeem me in the eyes of my non-Twilight reading friends? :)



Now, the thing I didn’t like: the fromage.

1. The cheesy love scenes and dialogue. “Thirsted for my blood”? This is definitely a “kissing book”—and at times the descriptions were a bit much, but I have to admit that I could not write a love scene to save my life.

2. The cheesy villains. I thought the predator had potential to be a great villain, but he turned out to be very stereotypical/predictable. Oh well, I wouldn’t want to have been so scared I couldn’t fall asleep after reading so late into the night.

Finally, my theory.

I think part of what makes people so obsessed with this book is the main character’s obsessiveness :) The book is written in first person, and I think reading an obsessed person’s thoughts makes people feel more frantic. It’s an interesting and suspenseful story anyway, but the tone of the book is one of the things that intrigued me the most. I felt anxious and wanted to keep reading until I felt better--which wasn’t until the end of the book.

When I got to the end and read the preview of the next book, New Moon, my impression was, “this sounds way too cheesy.” I wonder if I will cave in and read the rest of the series, too . . . stay tuned for more book reviews, I guess!