Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Twilight: The Twilight Saga, Book 1
Skip to main content
.us
Hello Select your address
All
EN
Hello, sign in
Account & Lists
Returns & Orders
Cart
All
Disability Customer Support Clinic Best Sellers Customer Service Amazon Basics New Releases Prime Music Today's Deals Books Registry Fashion Amazon Home Pharmacy Gift Cards One Medical Toys & Games Sell Coupons Luxury Stores Automotive Find a Gift Beauty & Personal Care Computers Home Improvement Health & Household Products Video Games Pet Supplies Smart Home Audible
Shop Father's Day gifts

  • Twilight: The Twilight Saga, Book 1
  • ›
  • Customer reviews

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
34,786 global ratings
5 star
80%
4 star
12%
3 star
5%
2 star
2%
1 star
2%
Twilight: The Twilight Saga, Book 1

Twilight: The Twilight Saga, Book 1

byStephenie Meyer
Write a review
How customer reviews and ratings work

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon
See All Buying Options

Top positive review

All positive reviews›
L2T
4.0 out of 5 starsImpact
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 11, 2008
As a working professional mother I have little time for reading, so I am (and perhaps always have been) a literary snob. When I do find time, I stick to the classics, fiction and non-fiction, and, more recently, again due to time constraints, short fiction of highly regarded authors. E.g. my most recent read (before Twilight) was "The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia" and selected writings of Mark Twain (wonderful) and Dorothy Parker (nice but disappointing). With an English teacher and would-be writer as a mom, I had easy access to the best stuff quite early on. My favourites as a teen definitely included science fiction (Asimov, Huxley, Bradbury). Among other things, I also read everything by Hemingway (considered a "lightweight" by some?). Point being that prior to starting the Twilight series, the closest I ever came to reading popular best-seller was about 20 yrs ago (an Ayn Rand, to see what the fuss was about). However, be forewarned that, as you will see below, I address the question on a very personal note.

Why did I start Twilight? My 13 yr old daughter seems finally to have started to "graduate" from Manga (whew!) to the vampire romance genre. She now tells me bedtime stories about incredibly powerful but disturbingly anti-social female vampire girls, and, frankly, I was getting a little worried. I thought it was time I sampled the fare she was reading. I said to her, "Give me the best you've got, " and it only took her 30 seconds to find her copy of "Twilight" and hand it over. That said, she doesn't even come close to being among the more obsessed fans.

So, you can perhaps see why I am incredibly embarrassed to say that I was mesmerized. By the last page of Twilight, I had the uncanny feeling of having relived adolescence, moment by moment... the naivety, the foolishness, the illusions, the hormone rush. Meyer's rendition of first love, and of infatuation (even the kinds we sometimes experience beyond teen-hood), was nothing short of vivid. I think I may have held my breath throughout all of chapter 13 at the acuteness with which she rendered the powerful and foreboding emotions and physical interplay of first sexual encounters of youth. (I was intrigued to learn that this chapter came to her is a dream that inspired the book.)

Edward - the (dark) prince charming - is a strikingly accurate metaphor for nearly every girl's actual experience with the "first big crush", with his dark side accentuating the universal (and particularly adolescent) thrill of first sexual forays as an exercise in the forbidden. As girls, in real life we are usually utterly and naively convinced that whoever is the target of affection, and frequently undeservedly so, he is somehow perfect in every way, not to mention a strong and wise protector. Meanwhile, unless I'm mistaken, in real life, most adolescent boys in the equation are abused of the same notion, proudly and naively strutting hand in hand with the girl, posing as her knight in shining armour. Other aspects of adolescence that Meyer brings home with incredible immediacy (and which often form the crux of criticism) are the banality of the banter and the self absorption and lack of maturity or focus of the characters (had you chosen your future career path by the age of 16?). While this may contribute, in part, to a two dimensional characterization of Bella and Edward, I think another part of the problem is that the some readers, young and old, may be loathe to remember or admit that we really were (or are?) that way. Didn't we mistake sarcasm for wit, arrogance for intelligence, possessiveness and brooding for declarations of love? Didn't we play stupid verbal games and have petty arguments over nothing, rooted in inexperience and insecurity about our first close ties beyond the family circle? Weren't we shamelessly inflicting our moods and emotions on our beau, often for no other reason than to experiment with their effect on another human being?

Bella? To those who say Bella is boring, I fear that some folks probably do think that a bookworm who isn't on the "most popular" list, doesn't like parties or dressing up, blanches at the idea of going to a prom or early marriage and doesn't need a bevy of friends surrounding her is boring. I submit that vast majority of adolescents, and other humans, are more like her than not. Tell me, what were the redeeming graces of Holden Caulfield in "Catcher in the Rye". Classic or not, the book cast him as infuriatingly self-absorbed and mindlessly insensitive to those around him. Some readers have criticized Bella's character as flawed for so callously using Jacob. Perhaps, also, we're ashamed to admit that we all (male and female) likely had a Jacob in our lives at some point. That person we dated on the "rebound", because they were there, because they were such a kind and likable person, but who didn't inspire in us the passion we though love should be all about. There is scornful criticism that Bella is so shallow that she had nothing to live for, by the second instalment, once Edward leaves. Again, I wonder, have so few of us experienced something akin to the agony Bella went through at the jolt of our "first big break-up"? I know I did - it took me a year - the best way I can describe it is coping with a death - a death of my illusions, perhaps. Much later, I could see more clearly that, although he was incredibly handsome, muscular and brilliant (no, really!), he was actually over-domineering and there were misogynistic tinges to his sheer (and intoxicating) adoration of me. While away at grad school, I got a call from my mother when my sister got that fateful phone call from her first big love -- I was told she literally had to be scraped off the kitchen floor and carried to her bed. This isn't just a girl thing, mind you. I spoke not long ago with a friend about how her son, a good student, fell completely apart at such a time, to the point of failing out of high school. He's been trying to recoup ever since. Did Meyer really get that so wrong?

If we're lucky, we mature to realize that passion and love are not synonyms, that infatuation is suspect - a drug that seriously warps the senses. If we're lucky, we were able to emerge from our first big break-up as a stronger, perhaps wiser person. If we learn from our mistakes, we realize that the kind of person we fall in love with in high school is a far cry from the one we seek out when we're 25 years old, or 35 years old, that the ones we really ought to marry are the Jacobs or even the Mikes out there. But that's life, not fiction.

Moral message? Should Bella do so much sneaking around behind her father's back? Get real. Apparently, even a Mormon has to own up to the facts of life. Some readers are infuriated at the happy ending, that Bella doesn't pay for her self absorption and doesn't have to grow up. Instead, girl gets boy back and marries prince charming, and right out of high school, no less! Where's the college and career ambition? In this, too, I'm fairly forgiving, even though I explicitly raise my children to expect to go to college and beyond and, like Renée, hope they will marry late enough to know reasonably well what they're doing. Aren't fairy takes supposed to have happy endings? One reader argues that fairly tales are supposed to teach a moral lesson and that, even if viewed as such, this one doesn't. Well, find me one single fairy tail involving a Prince Charming that teaches girls to be strong, independent, and assume responsibility for themselves. No, the ones with Prince Charming in them are sheer fantasies about the impossible; commoners making good -rags to riches in a feudal era. I might add that the classics are also littered with women who ultimately fail, even on the somewhat rare occasions (think, Ana Karenina, or for that matter, even Kira in "We the Living") when they appear to be headstrong and intelligent. I'm intrigued to say, that my daughter's own made-up vampire stories feature extremely strong and stubborn girls who don't fall for the guy at all, but rather ignore or rebuff his adoring advances. That is bound to change. Perhaps, the one redeeming grace is that with so little emotional guidance out there, the story might help kids realize, when their turn comes for the inevitable heart wrenching experiences, that they aren't alone.

Writing? I won't begin to try to argue that Meyer is a literary heavyweight - but certainly a cut well above pulp fiction. A good writer is not supposed to "stoop" to clichés, right? Yet, it has struck me - although I could be giving Meyer too much credit -- how does one write for and about teenagers, in a setting of back-woods middle America, in an authentic and accessible voice without writing in the vernacular? Teenagers simply don't sound like Shakespeare, or Updike. Like the clothes they wear, they usually talk (and think?) in a way (maddeningly, to some) that reflects the latest in pop culture. Another feature of good writing is creating tension and suspense, and that the characters are well-developed so that the reader can be interested in them and want to know what happens to them and how they confront the inevitable challenges the story inflicts on them. On both of these scores, Meyer is very good. The only character I didn't get a feel for was Emmett, the brawny one (and discovered that a delightful passage revealing his playful side had hit the cutting room floor). I believe that an attachment to the characters is what drove me (even more incredulously) to the sequels. I also wonder whether I was driven by the prurient interest akin to following soap operas (another thing I've never done). Finally, one of my more personal prerequisites for decent fiction (and one that I always stressed when critiquing my mother's manuscripts for her) is that it allows the reader to see and feel the story. On this score, by using a seemingly simple blend of dialogue, body language, and sensory perceptions, I found Meyer to be right on the mark. For my part, I was living the story as I read.

I have, by the way, read Harry Potter and other prize winning youth literature to my kids, hoping to stoke their interest in books (and kept reading after putting the lights out). It did nothing for my son; Potter's a fantastic read, but we were perhaps a bit put off by the British vernacular and boarding school thing. For what it's worth, my daughter is now an avid reader, no thanks to Harry Potter. The turning point for her a few years ago was our discovery of the quite silly Melanie Martin series. She realized that books didn't have to be serious but could be humorous and fun. Sure, I'm a chagrined that my daughter hasn't graduated to more classic fare, but I'm confident that will come.

Is the series worth the time? I found the time, somehow, in the small margins of my otherwise very busy schedule, and I'm not sorry I did. Rather, I'm mostly mystified, and a little embarrassed at how it hit me like the proverbial truck (run over by Bella's pickup?). Am I simply more of a sucker for a good love story than I ever imagined? (I cry without fail at the end of Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet, but oddly, not when they die, but at the exact moment the Friar realizes what a mess he's made.) Would I have been a shameless addict to soap operas, were I not "over" educated? Like much of reading, in general, the Twilight experience is so very personal. Try it and see.
Read more
49 people found this helpful

Top critical review

All critical reviews›
Mild Insanity
3.0 out of 5 starsGood for a rainy day fantasy...
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 28, 2008
It seems this book has received massive amounts of acclaim, but I never heard of it until I decided to watch The Dark Knight. A preview for the movie Twilight came on and mentioned that it was based on the best-selling novel by Stephenie Meyer. Since the preview looked good and I prefer to read books before seeing the movie, I picked up a copy.

Now that you know why I purchased the book, I should also mention that I'm not necessarily the target demographic and haven't been for a few years. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the good YA fantasy fiction book every now and again. (I've been called a perpetual teenager on more than one occasion.)

I'm going to try and keep this review as spoiler-free as possible. In case you haven't already gathered it from other reviews, or the book description itself, Twilight is about a young girl named Bella Swan who moves to Forks, Washington and finds herself in love with a vampire named Edward Cullen. The climax of the story happens when a vampire who doesn't abstain from feasting on humans, as the Cullen coven does, decides he wants Bella. Up until this point (first three quarters), the novel progresses at a moderate, but not lagging pace and then instantly picks up.

The book itself is a rather easy read, however, the characters seem somewhat shallow. Bella is supposed to be an honour student, but behaves exactly the opposite. Edward, who has been in existence for more than a hundred years, should be more intelligent and far wiser than is portrayed in his character. Armed with this tidbit about him, Meyer had plenty of room to play around and mold him into so much more, but never truly took that opportunity.

In fact, after finishing the first book (I've read both Twilight and New Moon), I wondered what a century old vampire might find utterly attractive in a seemingly average 17 year old girl, besides the fact that she smelled delectable, could pick out a common tune by Debussy, and had a penchant for identifying the mitotic phases of an onion. Even Bella herself wonders the same thing and makes it plainly obvious by asking almost every other page what this magnificent Adonis can possibly see in her, which became rather tiring.

(On another note, I'm still trying to figure out how any person with dark circles under his eyes and lavender eyelids can be likened to Adonis. It could just be me, but the way Meyer described their features, I couldn't help imagining a well-fed crack fiend half the time.)

While I don't understand how the love between Bella and Edward can be so true and deep as made out in the book, considering they only knew each other for a few months, I can understand how Bella formed such a strong attachment to Edward: he saved her life on more than one occasion and, in a sense, has become her personal Superman. Is this right thinking? Dunno, but I guess constantly saving a girl who can barely walk without tripping does equate to being inexplicably lovable.

By the end of the novel, I realized that Bella's character, though stubborn, was unbelievably insecure--more so than one would expect from the typical teenage girl--and Edward, arrogant as he can be, used this insecurity to his benefit (whether consciously or not), thus causing multiple crises of conscience for "putting [her] in harm's way".

When one really steps back from this novel and looks at the entire scope of it, the true dysfunction of their unhealthy relationship is obviously apparent.

Plus, Meyer's overuse of the word incredulous began grating on my senses, not to mention all the glaring, whining, cringing, grimacing, and her overwhelming need to append a "he said" or "she said" to almost every bit of dialog that transpired. (Surely, even truly young minds are able to keep up with the general flow of dialog). And let's not get started on the editing: You know the editor was asleep at the wheel, or either non-existent, when there's a glaring grammatical error within the first ten pages.

But, despite all of that, I enjoyed the book. Meyer is a wonderful storyteller. There was a cliffhanger at the end of each bite-sized chapter pressing the reader to continue on, if for no other reason than to see who else is glaring or grimacing at whom. The story also had a light-hearted comedic edge which played in its favor.

Rather than feeling as though I were trudging through a heavy piece of fantasy fiction, I was able to let my mind relax and float into the story as if I were watching some strangely intoxicating reality show about a clumsy teenage girl and a thoroughly confused vampire. In the end, despite their flaws and not fully understanding their logic or reasoning, I even enjoyed the characters Meyer created.

This is a novel you should pick up when you just want to shut off your brain for a little while and escape reality. Basically, you shouldn't try to read this novel with too serious an eye. Ideally, it should be read while curled up in your most comfortable outfit eating your favorite snack with the lights dimmed, and television and phone turned off.
Read more
1,243 people found this helpful

Sign in to filter reviews
34,786 total ratings, 8,555 with reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

From the United States

L2T
4.0 out of 5 stars Impact
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 11, 2008
Verified Purchase
As a working professional mother I have little time for reading, so I am (and perhaps always have been) a literary snob. When I do find time, I stick to the classics, fiction and non-fiction, and, more recently, again due to time constraints, short fiction of highly regarded authors. E.g. my most recent read (before Twilight) was "The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia" and selected writings of Mark Twain (wonderful) and Dorothy Parker (nice but disappointing). With an English teacher and would-be writer as a mom, I had easy access to the best stuff quite early on. My favourites as a teen definitely included science fiction (Asimov, Huxley, Bradbury). Among other things, I also read everything by Hemingway (considered a "lightweight" by some?). Point being that prior to starting the Twilight series, the closest I ever came to reading popular best-seller was about 20 yrs ago (an Ayn Rand, to see what the fuss was about). However, be forewarned that, as you will see below, I address the question on a very personal note.

Why did I start Twilight? My 13 yr old daughter seems finally to have started to "graduate" from Manga (whew!) to the vampire romance genre. She now tells me bedtime stories about incredibly powerful but disturbingly anti-social female vampire girls, and, frankly, I was getting a little worried. I thought it was time I sampled the fare she was reading. I said to her, "Give me the best you've got, " and it only took her 30 seconds to find her copy of "Twilight" and hand it over. That said, she doesn't even come close to being among the more obsessed fans.

So, you can perhaps see why I am incredibly embarrassed to say that I was mesmerized. By the last page of Twilight, I had the uncanny feeling of having relived adolescence, moment by moment... the naivety, the foolishness, the illusions, the hormone rush. Meyer's rendition of first love, and of infatuation (even the kinds we sometimes experience beyond teen-hood), was nothing short of vivid. I think I may have held my breath throughout all of chapter 13 at the acuteness with which she rendered the powerful and foreboding emotions and physical interplay of first sexual encounters of youth. (I was intrigued to learn that this chapter came to her is a dream that inspired the book.)

Edward - the (dark) prince charming - is a strikingly accurate metaphor for nearly every girl's actual experience with the "first big crush", with his dark side accentuating the universal (and particularly adolescent) thrill of first sexual forays as an exercise in the forbidden. As girls, in real life we are usually utterly and naively convinced that whoever is the target of affection, and frequently undeservedly so, he is somehow perfect in every way, not to mention a strong and wise protector. Meanwhile, unless I'm mistaken, in real life, most adolescent boys in the equation are abused of the same notion, proudly and naively strutting hand in hand with the girl, posing as her knight in shining armour. Other aspects of adolescence that Meyer brings home with incredible immediacy (and which often form the crux of criticism) are the banality of the banter and the self absorption and lack of maturity or focus of the characters (had you chosen your future career path by the age of 16?). While this may contribute, in part, to a two dimensional characterization of Bella and Edward, I think another part of the problem is that the some readers, young and old, may be loathe to remember or admit that we really were (or are?) that way. Didn't we mistake sarcasm for wit, arrogance for intelligence, possessiveness and brooding for declarations of love? Didn't we play stupid verbal games and have petty arguments over nothing, rooted in inexperience and insecurity about our first close ties beyond the family circle? Weren't we shamelessly inflicting our moods and emotions on our beau, often for no other reason than to experiment with their effect on another human being?

Bella? To those who say Bella is boring, I fear that some folks probably do think that a bookworm who isn't on the "most popular" list, doesn't like parties or dressing up, blanches at the idea of going to a prom or early marriage and doesn't need a bevy of friends surrounding her is boring. I submit that vast majority of adolescents, and other humans, are more like her than not. Tell me, what were the redeeming graces of Holden Caulfield in "Catcher in the Rye". Classic or not, the book cast him as infuriatingly self-absorbed and mindlessly insensitive to those around him. Some readers have criticized Bella's character as flawed for so callously using Jacob. Perhaps, also, we're ashamed to admit that we all (male and female) likely had a Jacob in our lives at some point. That person we dated on the "rebound", because they were there, because they were such a kind and likable person, but who didn't inspire in us the passion we though love should be all about. There is scornful criticism that Bella is so shallow that she had nothing to live for, by the second instalment, once Edward leaves. Again, I wonder, have so few of us experienced something akin to the agony Bella went through at the jolt of our "first big break-up"? I know I did - it took me a year - the best way I can describe it is coping with a death - a death of my illusions, perhaps. Much later, I could see more clearly that, although he was incredibly handsome, muscular and brilliant (no, really!), he was actually over-domineering and there were misogynistic tinges to his sheer (and intoxicating) adoration of me. While away at grad school, I got a call from my mother when my sister got that fateful phone call from her first big love -- I was told she literally had to be scraped off the kitchen floor and carried to her bed. This isn't just a girl thing, mind you. I spoke not long ago with a friend about how her son, a good student, fell completely apart at such a time, to the point of failing out of high school. He's been trying to recoup ever since. Did Meyer really get that so wrong?

If we're lucky, we mature to realize that passion and love are not synonyms, that infatuation is suspect - a drug that seriously warps the senses. If we're lucky, we were able to emerge from our first big break-up as a stronger, perhaps wiser person. If we learn from our mistakes, we realize that the kind of person we fall in love with in high school is a far cry from the one we seek out when we're 25 years old, or 35 years old, that the ones we really ought to marry are the Jacobs or even the Mikes out there. But that's life, not fiction.

Moral message? Should Bella do so much sneaking around behind her father's back? Get real. Apparently, even a Mormon has to own up to the facts of life. Some readers are infuriated at the happy ending, that Bella doesn't pay for her self absorption and doesn't have to grow up. Instead, girl gets boy back and marries prince charming, and right out of high school, no less! Where's the college and career ambition? In this, too, I'm fairly forgiving, even though I explicitly raise my children to expect to go to college and beyond and, like Renée, hope they will marry late enough to know reasonably well what they're doing. Aren't fairy takes supposed to have happy endings? One reader argues that fairly tales are supposed to teach a moral lesson and that, even if viewed as such, this one doesn't. Well, find me one single fairy tail involving a Prince Charming that teaches girls to be strong, independent, and assume responsibility for themselves. No, the ones with Prince Charming in them are sheer fantasies about the impossible; commoners making good -rags to riches in a feudal era. I might add that the classics are also littered with women who ultimately fail, even on the somewhat rare occasions (think, Ana Karenina, or for that matter, even Kira in "We the Living") when they appear to be headstrong and intelligent. I'm intrigued to say, that my daughter's own made-up vampire stories feature extremely strong and stubborn girls who don't fall for the guy at all, but rather ignore or rebuff his adoring advances. That is bound to change. Perhaps, the one redeeming grace is that with so little emotional guidance out there, the story might help kids realize, when their turn comes for the inevitable heart wrenching experiences, that they aren't alone.

Writing? I won't begin to try to argue that Meyer is a literary heavyweight - but certainly a cut well above pulp fiction. A good writer is not supposed to "stoop" to clichés, right? Yet, it has struck me - although I could be giving Meyer too much credit -- how does one write for and about teenagers, in a setting of back-woods middle America, in an authentic and accessible voice without writing in the vernacular? Teenagers simply don't sound like Shakespeare, or Updike. Like the clothes they wear, they usually talk (and think?) in a way (maddeningly, to some) that reflects the latest in pop culture. Another feature of good writing is creating tension and suspense, and that the characters are well-developed so that the reader can be interested in them and want to know what happens to them and how they confront the inevitable challenges the story inflicts on them. On both of these scores, Meyer is very good. The only character I didn't get a feel for was Emmett, the brawny one (and discovered that a delightful passage revealing his playful side had hit the cutting room floor). I believe that an attachment to the characters is what drove me (even more incredulously) to the sequels. I also wonder whether I was driven by the prurient interest akin to following soap operas (another thing I've never done). Finally, one of my more personal prerequisites for decent fiction (and one that I always stressed when critiquing my mother's manuscripts for her) is that it allows the reader to see and feel the story. On this score, by using a seemingly simple blend of dialogue, body language, and sensory perceptions, I found Meyer to be right on the mark. For my part, I was living the story as I read.

I have, by the way, read Harry Potter and other prize winning youth literature to my kids, hoping to stoke their interest in books (and kept reading after putting the lights out). It did nothing for my son; Potter's a fantastic read, but we were perhaps a bit put off by the British vernacular and boarding school thing. For what it's worth, my daughter is now an avid reader, no thanks to Harry Potter. The turning point for her a few years ago was our discovery of the quite silly Melanie Martin series. She realized that books didn't have to be serious but could be humorous and fun. Sure, I'm a chagrined that my daughter hasn't graduated to more classic fare, but I'm confident that will come.

Is the series worth the time? I found the time, somehow, in the small margins of my otherwise very busy schedule, and I'm not sorry I did. Rather, I'm mostly mystified, and a little embarrassed at how it hit me like the proverbial truck (run over by Bella's pickup?). Am I simply more of a sucker for a good love story than I ever imagined? (I cry without fail at the end of Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet, but oddly, not when they die, but at the exact moment the Friar realizes what a mess he's made.) Would I have been a shameless addict to soap operas, were I not "over" educated? Like much of reading, in general, the Twilight experience is so very personal. Try it and see.
49 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Foger
5.0 out of 5 stars Light paranormal romance.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 6, 2012
Verified Purchase
This is a light romance between a ordinary 16 year old girl who falls for a vampire, who doesn't want to be evil.

Twilight starts a PG rated series that's great for all ages. This is the series that started a vampire fascination that still hasn't stopped. It's great for those who have a weak stomach or those who don't like vampires at all. It's laid back and very relaxing for older adults, while still being aimed at teens. If you hate vampires and the paranormal, prepare to be swayed. Meyer opens a whole new world that we'd love to live in. Give this series a try and the next time you go to Walmart, you'll find yourself searching the young adult section. It's slow paced as Meyer paints a beautiful setting, with Bella being a daughter we'd all like to have. With romance, light comedy, and some ending nail biting tension the book is a must read.

The negative.
It's very slow paced with a lot of detail. Probably too slow for young readers who need a lot of action. I don't think there is any action until page fifty. Meyer might try to write too beautiful. She must use a record number of words to describe copper hair, and golden brown eyes. I had to go by her first description because I didn't understand several of the words she used. There are many editing errors and a couple sections that should have been edited and copied to the paragraph before it. Most of them should be blamed on the editor IMO. The vampires are too powerful and too hard to kill. It seems to take a nuclear blast, or another vampire or paranormal creature.

Characters.
Edward, the vampire, might be considered too perfect, but he has his flaws. He could be considered a bit of a pervert, but I don't think so. His weirdness actually adds comedy and more to the relationship. He's actually very morally sound. He's dedicated, mature, and very responsible. He's also too pushy. Sometimes I thought he was going to be one of those guys who beats his wife, but later I saw I was wrong. He's just over protective. Almost criminally so.
As others have said, the side characters are one dimensional, but still very good. Most books don't show us anything of the side characters. Well most of Meyers do. It might be one thing, but at least it's something. They have very strong voices, and you'll remember every one. Even what they look like. Some new books today don't even describe the main character well. I honestly wish the books were longer to get more of them.
Bella... The daughter everyone wants. Reading this story from her view makes you want to be a better person. Yes, she's a great role model for every teenage girl out there. She's very mature, responsible, long suffering, and loving. She does her homework and chores. She tries to always put her parents above herself and she isn't whiny. She's a normal ordinary looking girl with above average intelligence, and no athletic ability. She's also brave. One of the great things of this series, is that a ordinary girl, surrounded by super powers, might end up being the hero.
Her flaws. Well falling in love with a vampire. She's a bit insecure, but who wouldn't be with Edward? She also lets him boss her around too much, but she is in love.

Some answers to other negative post with SPOILERS.
People don't like Bella...
Why in the world not? Is she too perfect? I don't think so, she's perfect to me, but falls to temptations other teens do as well. She took cold medicine just to sleep. Just the once, but the attitude is there. In later books she shows a little of a criminal side by debaiting if love should make you overlook murder. She shows she can make mistakes too. I explained my other views above. Some say she whines too much. That's not true. She mentally complains in her head about having to move to Forks. This is very believable. She came from sunny Phoenix, Arizona. When I was a teen, I had a friend move to Tennessee from Florida and he complained all the time. And it doesn't even rain a lot in Tn. Bella didn't even complain out loud! Edward picked the information from her and she admitted she hated it to him. We hear some complaints in her head over the first of the book, but it's not too much. By the end of book one she even likes Forks. Trust me.
Bella comes to small town and everyone likes her...
This isn't just believable, it's highly likely. It's also not completely true. First Loren hates Bella, and Jessica uses her. I'd say ninety-nine percent of new students get the same attention Bella did. They don't always get negative attention. Espescially a average looking girl. Most guys like all girls anyway. She's a novelty. Espescially transfering in the middle of the year. Plus it's a small town. Bella is also introverted. That will keep the attention up.
We don't see what Edward see's in Bella...
No we don't see enough. He likes her facial expressions. He's intrigued by her smell, and by the fact she's the only person ever who's mind he can't read. She calls his name in her sleep. She shows that she can be trusted. There is some little stuff, but not enough. Even so, haven't you heard of love at first sight? We don't get much, but we get a little more than that. I've read a lot of teen books and Twilight gives us a lot more in the romantic department. Romance is very hard to write and most authors do the love at first sight.
The vampires are shiny...
Ok it adds more PGness to the story, but I've read much worse. Some vampires can telaport to other countries, and control human minds. Some can even turn human again. How crazy is all of that? Sparkling seems minor too me, but Twilight got me started on vamps.
These vampires aren't killers...
The Cullens aren't. Most are. Remember this is a book best for people new to the vampire world, or who couldn't get into the violent ones. This is the book that showed some vampires to be good.
Reading this book, I started trying to read the evil vampire books too, but I can't find them. I read The Vampire Lestat, and compared to this, it stinks. Lestat had character, but was also homosexual and wanted his mother. Rice put terrible details, and her story was boring a lot of the time. She had one comedy scene, and she did it wrong to where it wasn't even funny. Rice goes into everything a vampire can possibly do, but in little detail. She dazzles us, but doesn't tell us much of anything. I couldn't find Interview with a Vampire, but heard it was in the same mold. Meyer explains everything slowly and in great detail. She gives us a great idea of how much vampires can see, and how far they can hear.
Bella and Edward don't progress...
I'm rereading the series now for the tenth plus time, but I think that's right. They progress on some small stuff, like finding Romance, Bella liking Forks now, sex, marriage but not much. We do see huge progression in book four, and a lot of bestselling books don't have progression at all.

Twilight won't win awards from the critics, but look at what it's done. Twilight has changed our world. Many adults are now looking in the YA sections when they never considered it before. Vampires are popular again. Meyer has opened the door the other authors with series like Morganville Vampires, Vampire Academy. Just about every new book about vampires is on the shelves because of Twilight. Vampire Academy is my second favorite and in some ways it's better than Twilight, but if it hadn't been for Twilight, I would have never bothered. Some authors are writing a vampire novel just to get interest in their own material. Like VC Andrews.
And don't overlook that Twilight is PG rated. That is a miracle. How many authors can write a book anyone from eight to ninety can read and enjoy? It's hard to write a book, and even harder to write one while keeping the violence and romance clean, yet still enjoyable. In book three I wasn't even sure if Bella cut herself or not until I saw the movie! A little blood wouldn't have hurt this books rating anyway.
Meyer also keeps this paranormal fiction slightly possible. I don't believe in Vamps, but it's impossible to prove they don't exist. So there is a one percent chance Twilight could really happen. That makes the book easier to loose yourself in. Twilight feels real. Harry Potter on the other hand has time travel, magical everything, and every paranormal creature you can think off. I'm not bashing Harry Potter, I just mean that series would be easier to write and keep everyones attention. The more action, magic, and sex you use, the easier the book is to write. Meyer is outstanding keeping the pages turning without having to throw action or magic at us every few pages.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


alllie
5.0 out of 5 stars Vampirism as a metaphor for sex
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 11, 2008
Verified Purchase
When was the Golden Age of Science Fiction? The late 1930s to the 1950s, when science fiction became widely popular and many classic science fiction stories were published. The joke answer is that the Golden age of Science Fiction is 14, the age when many science fiction readers become fans. I know I read my first scifi when I was 13 or 14 so maybe they are right.

Lately scifi fandom, in which I include not just the fans but writers, podcasters and publishers, want to catch the next generation of fans and have been pushing Young Adult Science Fiction, scifi for kids in their teens and maybe early twenties. I'm not immune to this campaign so I've been reading some of it myself. First, I got Scott Westerfeld's Uglies trilogy. It was light but okay. Then I got Twilight, the first of Meyers' books about a clumsy girl and the vampire who loves her.

My first impression of the book was that it was BIG. It was a thick book. Once I opened it I realized it was big inside. Big font. Big line spacing. It reminded me that what publishers are basically selling is a paper product. The more paper they sell, the thicker the book, the more they can charge. The actual arrangement of ink on the page is usually the cheapest part of their product. Twilight is a big book. It might be classified as Young Adult Speculative Fiction but it was great as Old People Going Blind Fiction as well. As an old person going blind I found the font and the line spacing made it a lot easier for me to read than the tiny fonts in real books. I didn't have to put on my special adjustable glasses and put it down a lot because my eyes were freaking. BIG FONTS. It was easy to read.

It was a little slow to start. I didn't really find the girl, Bella, interesting. She seemed rather ordinary. There's a vagueness to her that reminds me of superhero comic books. They leave the faces of the superheroes sketchy so the reader can imagine themselves in that role. In the same way Bella is vague so the reader can imagine herself as Bella. It's not even clear if Bella is particularly pretty (except to Edward) but when the vampires appear, going to high school to give themselves a paper trail and a backstory that will allow them to live among humans, there are pages devoted to their beauty. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful vampires. Beautiful and irresistible so their prey cannot resist them. But this family of vampires is vegetarian. They don't eat people but Bella's vampire Edward can barely restrain himself from taking her. The descriptions of the teen vampires are very much how girls, how I, viewed many boys when I was that age. They did seem just as beautiful to me as Edward seems to Bella. I used to sit in class and covertly watch them. Edward's hard flesh was like the hardness of young male flesh as their hormones turned them, almost overnight, into something different, something alien. I hit my teenaged brother a couple of times (he deserved it) and it was like hitting a log. I hurt my hands more than I hurt him. And teenaged boys, beautiful as many are, are often monsters. So the entire metaphor of vampire = teenaged boy = monster = object-of-desire works.

Like Shakespeare has multiple layers and can be read for the plots, for the characterizations, for the sex and violence, for the dirty jokes, for the philosophy, for the language, Twilight, as simple as it is, has several layers. The entire Bella/Edward relationship is a metaphor for the relationship between teenaged girls and boys as they fight their instinct to have sex, sex that might destroy them. Maybe it's not like that today with birth control and abortion but when I grew up the struggle between guys and girls was to not have sex. The girl was supposed to be in charge of that but the better guys shared it, fought against their desire to have sex and maybe ruin the life of the girl who gave in. In the same way Edward fights against giving into this instincts and taking Bella, consuming her. As much as he is driven he fights against his desire. He also fights against her desire to become like him, to become a vampire, to lead her into damnation. He believes that he lost his soul when he was transformed and he doesn't want to be the weapon that deprives Bella of hers. The whole thing is a metaphor for sex, at least sex in the life of a Mormon housewife, which was what Meyers was 5 years ago.

Meyers has linked various works to each book in the series. Pride and Prejudice to Twilight. Romeo and Juliet to New Moon. Wuthering Heights to Eclipse. Midsummer's Night's Dream to Breaking Dawn. This adds another layer to each of the stories. In Twilight Edward, at first, seems cold and withdrawn, like Mr. Darcy, but that is because, like Mr. Darcy, he is trying to control and conceal his growing desire for an unsuitable girl. I think telling the Romeo and Juliet elements in New Moon would be too spoilery. In Eclipse, there are two guys in love with the same girl, in a relationship very much like Cathy, Heathcliff, and Edgar Linton. And in the final book, Breaking Dawn, first you have two men magically in love with the same girl then two immortal families struggling over a magical child like in A Midsummer's Night Dream. All of the connections are pretty weak but it adds a nice additional layer to the books and that lets you run the similarities and differences over in your mind.

The Twilight Saga, like Austen's novels, the Bronte sisters' works and even Romeo and Juliet, are pretty much girl books, the text version of chick flicks. Meyers is writing about love and romance at its most melodramatic extreme. I don't know that a male could tolerate them. Well, unless he got off on the idea of being the superhero protecting an accident-prone, trouble-magnet girlfriend from all the dangers of the world or secretly hanging out in her bedroom, watching her as she sleeps. (Edward takes stalking to a whole other level.) Like Austen's novels, the Twilight novels, especially the first one, have a strong Cinderella element. Most of Austen's heroines are ordinary girls, usually without much money, who get the best, richest, most good-looking guy in the novel. Like Cinderella they get the prince. Just so Twilight is the story of how Bella, the ordinary girl, gets the superhero vampire.

So there are at least three layers to the Twilight Saga. It makes it all a little better. Gives you something else to read into it no matter how preposterous the story is.

Of course, I loved them, though I am kinda disgusted about that. Teenaged love, the vampire and the virgin. God, how ridiculous is that? Yet as soon as I finish one of Meyers' books I start rereading the parts I like best then reread the whole thing. After six days I'm almost through my third reading of Breaking Dawn. I don't know why her books ring my bells. They make me feel kinda manipulated but still I find them addictive.

This summer Meyers also released the scifi book Host which I recommend. It is pretty straight forward scifi about an alien parasite living in the brain of a human and changed by it. The parasite finds herself loving the people that her host loved and driven to be with them. In a sense it's a rewrite of I Married a Monster From Outer Space but without the sex. No sex before marriage in books by Mormon housewives! I've already read it three times too. I try to blame that on the nice big font!

Well, at least it's over. It will be a while before Meyers can get another book out and until then I can pretend I have better taste than this. Though I'm not embarrassed about liking Host. That one was okay.
6 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Exasperate Addlement
4.0 out of 5 stars Addictive Young Adult Fiction
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 16, 2009
Verified Purchase
Let me start by explaining a bit about me and the way I look at books. I have a master's degree in literature. I read a lot of books, but I judge books according to what they purport to be. I love James Joyce's Ulysses, but I also love the Twilight series--for entirely different reasons.

I am more than a little perturbed by reviewers who, for lack of a better term, I'll call literature snobs. Who have developed some arrogant literary paradigm for what a book should be in their heads and so proceed to bash books that do not fit their paradigm. This bashing of course echoes that of any other snobbish group mocking people whom they see as their lessers whether it is the country-club member's view of the working man or the cheerleader's mocking of artistic girl (since we are talking YA fiction here). I don't know why such people bother to review popular fiction, except perhaps to help reaffirm their self-perpetuated feelings of superiority.

Such reviewers usually begin by falsely asserting that they wanted to like the book, or thought it really could have been good, but such assertions usually prove to be hugely insincere by the fact that they seem to have read the book looking for every flaw they could find. It is more likely that such reviewers set out to find fault with a popular book simply to maintain the idea that anything loved by the unrefined masses couldn't really be good. Their reviews usually resolve on some vague and undefined criticism of plot or characters: characters are shallow, or the plot drags. These criticisms, of course, are meaningless because the review doesn't give their criteria for what constitutes a shallow character or a dragging plot. If they did, most of us could recognize that the reviewer uses different criteria to judge a book than most of us.

As far as popular literature goes, check it out at the library and judge it according to your own criteria, but remember what the book is trying to be: popular. In the case of Twilight, it is trying to be a popular Young Adult Fantasy. In other words, it is meant to be escape fiction, entertainment, a fun ride, and not "high art" or "literature"--since some people have the arrogance to try and define such things. I highly recommend it as such for the following reasons:

For this genre, and I enjoy the genre--I even enjoy reading books that I couldn't rate higher than three stars, which would be generous, Twilight is fairly well-written, meaning true errors in grammar, syntax, punctuation, and style are few. There are some errors in all of these areas, but the story tends to allow me to overlook them even though I'm professionally trained to notice them all. If nothing else could be said of the writing, it at the very least isn't written in a vain attempt to make the characters sound like authentic teenagers of the day, allowing readers to supply the appropriate teenage slang and sounds of their own experience. The dialogue and language aren't great, but they don't distract from the entertainment quality of the story. Twilight is not a book about high school drama like a majority of YA fantasy. Forks High School is a minor scene where action takes place; there is no attempt to address themes of high school experience.

Another reason to recommend the book are the characters, whom I found very complex and interesting. To me a complex character is one who 1) is unique enough to be easily distinguishable from every other character in the book in sound and actions. A great many YA books have an ensemble group of teenagers who speak and act nearly the same (one character would probably respond to a situation with essentially the same words and actions as another). Meyer's characters manage to each be unique in mannerism and voice. 2) The characters are shown to have to deal with multiple aspects of life. Despite being labeled by many viewers as shallow, I found Bella to be one the most complex characters I've come across in YA fiction. She is a girl who has essentially been denied the life of a teenager because she has been responsible for her flighty mother (she cooks, keeps the financial books, buys the groceries, keeps the schedule, and makes the hard decisions about what would be best for her mother). The book begins with Bella making a selfless decision to banish herself to a place that she hates (Forks, Washington where her father lives) so her mother can be happy traveling with her new husband (I suppose some people might find a way to classify such altruism as shallow, submissive, weak, etc., but I find it a unique quality in a young person.) When Bella finds herself developing a crush on a handsome mysterious boy whom she discovers later is a vampire who chooses to deny his own nature and not feed on humans, she is really experiencing her first atypical typical teenage experience, which of course is going to be a mindless, over-emotional, hyperbolic obsessive devotion. The atypical nature of her relationship only fuels her obsession, but it also allows her to discover more reasons to love Edward beyond her teenage obsession. After days of conversation, interrogation, revelations of deepest feelings and secrets, Bella comes to love him for his goodness (hey, most people would probably agree that if you end up a vampire with a consuming need to drink human blood you would probably just go with it) as well as his mind, manners, concern for her happiness. I, for one, can perfectly understand why in just a few months Bella would want an enduring relationship with a guy who is attentive to her needs and wants (maybe in a hundred years we guys really could figure out that we're happier if we think of our partners well-being before our own, or maybe I'm just a hopeless romantic myself). Bella's complexity is established by the fact that everything that is "typically teenager" in the book is atypical for her. She is also incredibly stubborn (not really a quality of shallow people) in that she refuses to give in to the impossibility, danger, and foolishness of their relationship, of which she seems to be fully aware. She decided to love Edward and nothing will get in the way of that.

Edward also manages to go beyond the stereotypical personality detractors label him with. He's not perfect. His imperfection, in fact, is the primary cause of conflict in the book. If he had been perfect, he would never come back after he leaves on Bella's first day at school. Edward has had a hundred years of study both of knowledge and human nature, which he has unique access to because he can hear everyone's thoughts except Bella's, so it is only expected that he would have nearly perfected his talents. What he does he does as an expert with a hundred years of experience. This should be expected, so it really shouldn't lead so many to assert that he is too perfect. If anything, he is a classic tragic hero: a figure of great character and ability with one or some flaw that leads to disaster. Edward is far from perfect; when it comes to things that he hasn't been practicing for a hundred years, he's actually fairly bad. He struggles to interact with Bella because he can't hear her thoughts and so frequently misinterprets her words and actions. His main character flaw is hubris, not atypical for a man in his first serious relationship with someone he loves. He continually tries to make decisions for Bella, but can't even stick to his decisions because of his selfish need to stay with her and give her what she wants. I find Edward very complex and very interesting and find that I can identify with him (at least if I imagine I had been living as a vampire for a hundred years before I found someone I loved.)

Into this obsessive but far from typical romance (I wish the author had made fewer reference to Edward's appearance, but my wife asserts it is fairly authentic for an obsessive teenage girl to think frequently of the physical attributes of the object of her obsession) Meyer throws all the horror of the world of vampires.

I have found the entire series (the romance matures very satisfactorily over the course of the books) a great read, fun entertainment, and a cut above most YA fiction. I've read them obsessively several times, and I'll probably pick them up again when I can't find anything new that is as good.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Jana L.Perskie
HALL OF FAMEVINE VOICE
5.0 out of 5 stars An unputdownable read!!! The first novel in an extraordinary series!
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 29, 2009
Verified Purchase
I usually do not read books labeled "young adult." I am an adult, many years away from being young, (except at heart!!), and, with a few exceptions, i.e., the Harry Potter novels and "Where the Wild Fern Grows," I read literature for grown-ups. To my delight Stephenie Meyer has created an extraordinary young adult series - which I love (!!) - "The Twilight Series." "Twilight" is also the title of book one. And what original, delightful novels these are - even for someone who prefers her/his literature a bit more sophisticated. I could not put the first book down, literally...and will begin book two, "New Moon," as soon as I finish writing this review. Believe me, there's a reason that more than 10 million "Twilight" series books are in print. They are addictive!

As an aside....I did see both "Twilight films," "Twilight" and "New Moon," which are now playing in theaters or on DVD. The movie versions are outstanding and true to the original storylines. The movie characters really resemble those I had in my mind's eye as I read and imagined what Ms. Meyer's world, and the folks who people it, look like. And the books' characters, especially Bella and Edward, are amazingly well depicted. Although all four books are on the market now - great Christmas presents for those uninitiated in "The Twilight Series" - there are 2 more films in the making to complete the movie series.

Isabella Swan is seventeen - a typical teen, good looking but somewhat clumsy. She is adapting herself to her long limbs and changing body. Her parents have been divorced since "Bella," as she is called, was a baby. She and her Mom live in sunny Phoenix, Arizona, where she has few friends. Bella is shy and is somewhat of an outcast amongst her peers. She is a moody and private person. But she gets along with her mother - miracle of miracles for an adolescent girl/young woman. Bella is also this stories narrator, so the reader experiences everything from her point of view.

Each year she visits her father, Charlie Swan, the chief of police in rainy, dreary Forks, Washington. These annual visits have been more of a torture than a treat for Bella. The constant rain, boredom and loneliness would get anyone down, except for those used to life in Forks. She has only three friends there - Jacob Black, a Native American of the Quileute tribe, (also a teen - and a handsome one at that), his father, Billy Black, and tribal leader Sam. All three are absolutely fascinating and original characters. They have known Stephanie since she was a toddler. The 3 of them have always regaled her with ancient Quileute legends.

Bella's mother, Renee, is about to travel with her new husband, Phil Dwyer, a minor league baseball player, to Florida for spring training. Bella has little choice - she can move with her mother and stepfather to Florida, or go to Dad in Forks. She decides to go to Dad so as not to be a third wheel in her newly wedded mother's marriage. Bella, is not a selfish person. She tends to consider others' needs before her own, a trait that can bring her joy, but can also endanger her life.

It is in Washington that major changes effect Bella's world. Once installed at Forks, she is not reticent about expressing her displeasure to Charlie, who would do anything to make his daughter happy - except move away from his home. When she begins high school, the lovely Bella, the new kid on the block, surprisingly finds herself very popular. With all the attention she receives, she is quickly befriended by a several students. Unused to being the center of attention, she is dismayed to find that many boys/young men compete for her favors. And she begins to enjoy living with her easy-going, somewhat introverted father. But Bella, who is more embarrassed than flattered by her newfound popularity, has eyes for only one boy - the dazzlingly handsome, aloof, charismatic, Edward Cullen. He is the most beautiful person she has ever seen, with his golden hair, and his dark brooding eyes - even his voice is mesmerizing. Edward is the youngest son of the mysterious and reclusive Cullen family. He and his four siblings, also noticeably beautiful, sit apart from the others, at a separate table, during lunch....but they never eat. He watches her intently, but alternates between interest in Bella and what appears to be anger at her.

When Edward and Bella are assigned to be lab partners in chemistry class, he avoids working with her or even looking at her. As a matter of fact, he is downright nasty. However, when an accident almost ends Bella's life, Edward saves her in a most non-human way. It is than when Bella discovers that Edward and his family are "benevolent vampires" who have vowed never to drink human blood. They hunt animals, and the blood of deer, mountain lions, bears, etc., is their source of sustenance. They don't eat - except for animal blood - so they dine in private. They do not sleep, and of course, they all have the usual vampire super human powers...and then some. They are all extremely sophisticated, accomplished and alluring. They can walk in daylight but their skin gleams and glitters in direct sunlight. These strange and potentially dangerous beings, unlike the characters in most vampire fiction, seem to have hearts and souls. So as not to give themselves away, they are happiest when it rains and is dark and misty outside. The head of the household, Carlisle, is a respected doctor in the community, whose citizens have no idea that there are vampires in their midst, although Jacob and his Native American tribe know.

So Bella and Edward grow close as friends, and then they fall intensely in love. They yearn for each other - and although the word "yearn" may sound corny, it really describes their feelings for each other. "Twilight" is labeled "young adult" because there is no culmination of the couple's strong sexual attraction. They do not have a sexual relationship. However, there is much sensuality here and plenty of erotic kissing. Actually, I think the abstinence gives the feeling of more passion than usual - more sexual tension. Edward is a gentleman and also fears that intercourse with Bella might harm her...him being a super strong vampire and all.

As Bella says, "About three things I was absolutely positive: first, Edward was a vampire; second, there was a part of him -- and I didn't know how dominant that part might be -- that thirsted for my blood; and third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him." Bella also discovers the reason behind Edward's initial hostility toward her. He is torn between his desire to love her and the desire to devour her. He is afraid his vampire nature might become stronger than his self control.

I do not want to give the plot away. Let it suffice to say there are multiple storylines and much danger here - to Bella and her family. And there is love. Plus, the Native Americans are more than what they seem.

Whatever flaws there are in this novel, (it IS fantasy fiction!), the magical narrative overcomes them threefold! I am thrilled that I have 3 more books to read in the series. This one is exceptional!
Jana Perskie

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3)

Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4)
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Nancyhua
4.0 out of 5 stars For what it offers, it delivers in droves
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 4, 2010
Verified Purchase
This book has serious problems, but it certainly achieves its goals of entertaining the female reader with an indulgent fantasy romance. I read all 4 books in 1 night. I was initially embarrassed to have enjoyed them so much but I have to accept that I am also victim of being a girl so here's me embracing it.

Why it's good:
1) Stephanie Meyers may secretly be a genius, but from the way the book takes itself so seriously I think she doesn't even know she's doing it, and by it I mean she's got her teeth sunk into the neck of the secret ultimate fantasy of every teenage girl in the universe.

Exhibit A:
Hot, 100-year-old virgin Edward Cullen is what girls secretly long for: a rich (obscenely rich), physically beautiful (poorly written, repetitive descriptions of Edward's hotness literally accompany every mention of the guy), physically strong (strength emphasized by him saving her life all the time and by the narrator constantly claiming to be clumsy and otherwise even more physically impaired than the average human), morally upright (Bella often swoons and marvels over Edward's self control and moral compass, ie. his ability to not rape/destroy her even though he easily could and sort of wants to and she loves that he wants to and loves even more that he doesn't), old fashioned gentleman (super protective and jealous provider who wants to take care of her so she doesn't need to do anything), respectful (lets Bella do what she wants most of the time even if that means making out with other guys), and obsessed in love with his girl (their declarations of love are over the top and they would literally rather die than live without each other).
This last obsessed love thing is a key element to a good love story. Because I think teenagers most feel this level of single minded infatuation with strangers and girls especially have an egotistical fantasy that they are the Only One for their dream man- that even though he's a super hot guy he's a 100 year old virgin because he's waiting for YOU, that none of the other fine ladies were right for him and yet YOU inexplicably ARE. Through the twisted logic of romance, the inexplicable-ness somehow means more fated and enduring than something that actually made sense, which is why in the world of this fantasy their intense relationship that occurs after a few sidelong glances is actually not only reasonable but the best possible scenario. You're somehow the one super special thing for this dude (and in fact every male in this series of books), and vice versa (except you also make out with one of the other many guys who love you). Which brings us to:

Exhibit B:
Hot, 16-year-old virgin Jacob Black is also totally convinced Bella is also his One. Oh yeah, did I mention that the other part of the ultimate girl fantasy is that she also has to choose between several super hot guys? Every male in the Twilight world is inexplicably in love with Bella but Jacob is especially significant because he's the other one with super powers. He also falls into the romance category of 'guy-who-always-loved-you-but-who-you-didn't-like-at-first-but-later-come-to-like.'

2) The conflict between wanting to have sex but not being able to (because the sex will be so good the vampire in him will freak out and kill you? Maybe it's a metaphor for religion or something) appeals to girls because young girls are often afraid of sex but are also curious about it, so the kissing and the closeness is a nice alternative. In addition it's part of the fantasy to be a girl who's causing men so much strife that it's this epic battle to abstain from tearing your clothes off.

3) She takes a lesson (or twenty) from the master bard Shakespeare and the plots of the books are pretty good as a result. The plots are the same as the greatest romances of all time, with her own supernatural twist on it.

Aside from the shame of having such ridiculous fantasies, here's reasons I am embarrassed to like it, accompanied by rationalizations for why these reasons are immaterial:

1) Meyers is not a good writer. Her word choice is unoriginal, often cliche, sometimes cringe-worthy, and I think it could've just been fixed by a good editor but I guess they skipped this because it's irrelevant to this book's appeal to readers. Cross section of her language: "my stomach was already full- of butterflies!" Sounds straight from the page of a teen diary. Much of the writing is equally bad and she especially belabors how rightfully obsessed Bella is with Edward. But maybe that's part of the appeal to some audiences, and I think it is also true to how girls often feel about boys- if a girl becomes obsessed with a guy she goes crazy and just does not stop thinking about him. Thus every mention of Edward has to be accompanied by a little reminder of how awesome he is, because that is what Bella is actually thinking. Meyers is actually prodigiously in touch with the female mind.

2) The characters are totally fake and dead, especially the protagonist. Bella unfortunately has no discernible personality, although as the books continue Meyers does get better at fleshing out these people. The book would be a less embarrassing read if the heroine was not an empty shell who had no reason for living aside from her dude and no skills whatsoever. There are some weak attempts at character building which seem formulaic and forced. For example Meyers makes it a point to assert that Bella's key character traits are clumsiness and an ability to cook. Not only is this offensive from a literature perspective, the flatness of the female lead is offensive from a human perspective and I worry about what message this may be sending to people. Again, I think Meyers possibly doesn't know she's doing this (although her ignorance seems almost impossible), but, if the book has a message, the message can be interpreted as extremely demeaning to women: Bella is literally nothing until she marries Edward and becomes a vampire, at which point she gains all these powers and becomes awesome. Disturbing, but hopefully people do not see the book as having any kind of message at all, aside from perhaps something about the power of love.

In conclusion, read this book if you want a love story that shamelessly gratuitously caters to your impossible romantic fantasies. This book satisfies that sweet tooth wonderfully; it's like drinking chocolate from a fire hose. Do not read this if you expect literature.
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Steven M. Brown
4.0 out of 5 stars A safe paranormal Romance aimed squarely for its target audience but interesting.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 4, 2018
Verified Purchase
I first read this book and series because I have a habit when I movie comes out based on the book in the science fiction fantasy and even paranormal genres that I like to read it before the movie. This book and series was my introduction to paranormal Romance. I've since read fairly heavily in the genre and my perspective of the series has changed slightly but not too much from my original thoughts.

When approaching the series you have to recognize it for what it is. The target range is for young girls in their mid-teens and up. It is focused on the emotional journey and the physical mysteries of youth more than action and adventure. It is a very clean book with no foul language and a instant love story where two people become obsessed with each other one because of the flawless beauty and hint of danger she sees in Edward the other in the the fact that he can't read her mind and her blood calls to the monster inside him. In the series is a whole there will be a false love triangle which was played up much more in the movies and an advertisement as team Edward and team Jacob. Again it is not meant to be full of action but rather an emotional rollercoaster with dangerous and mysterious love interest that the reader if they're honest with themselves knows where it will end but we'll enjoy the ride nonetheless.

As much as it sounds like I may be complaining Stephenie Meyer's is a good writer. She writes in a fashion that is clearly understandable and from the perspective and mindset of a young woman. That means not necessarily a rational young woman who makes clear and logical decisions but one who is intelligent and despite the shallow nature of her love is actually a selfless person. It was not until book three that we get several chapters from Jacobs perspective where we see the mind of a Young Man that I realize how good she was in writing from perspective and not showing her hand to the audience. Bella's interaction with other characters covers up something I had not really noticed I strongly until I came back to the series... that the character of Bella has no interest or at least shown to have no active interest really in anything other than Edward. She has shown to enjoy reading certain romantic books but there's no passion for life outside of Edward, no hobbies, or really goals to strive for. This is something that newer readers may not notice but those who have red heavily in fiction will pick up and it will be a fly in the ointment.

The mythos that she built into the story does grow throughout the series and feels true to this world that she creates. In this first book she reveals vampires not to be the hideous things that hide in the dark but rather beautiful predators, yes they sparkle LOL, that are designed entirely to attract and destroy their pray but have a conscience that makes them want to be more than just simple monsters. In truth considering the physical power and extra powers of the vampires particularly as the series goes on with another writer or a different style of story they could have been truly terrifying. However for the genre and target audience it was a perfect hit that of course made Stephenie Meyers millions.

I came to the series when the nation was swept up in the movie. I have a habit of reading books that are made into movies before actually watching the movie. and the first time I read it I wanted to be able to have an opinion of the book series for myself rather than taking others words for it. while I did enjoy the story the more that I read into the genre the more I realize that the twilight series was safe and was meant for a younger audience. The stories did mature as the years went on but not to a degree that would make it too inappropriate for high schoolers. I also realize that it was meant mostly to be a romance before anything else.

Looking back having read the series multiple times and buying the books because I felt guilty for not supporting the author I think Bella Swan while having a rough start in the first book in terms of character depth becomes a different sort of hero in the end. She may not be a sword wielding assassin but she has a strength and determination as well as bravery that makes her relatable.

I do think that looks three and four of the series are better than books one and two. The first book they love story just feel shallow. The second book with how the author had to introduce a character for the false love triangle while also putting the main love interest to the side for a while was rather annoying period in the third and fourth books it feels like a lot of the nonsense is put to the side and it gets down to the nitty-gritty no more wavering to milk the what ifs.
31 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Mild Insanity
3.0 out of 5 stars Good for a rainy day fantasy...
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 28, 2008
Verified Purchase
It seems this book has received massive amounts of acclaim, but I never heard of it until I decided to watch The Dark Knight. A preview for the movie Twilight came on and mentioned that it was based on the best-selling novel by Stephenie Meyer. Since the preview looked good and I prefer to read books before seeing the movie, I picked up a copy.

Now that you know why I purchased the book, I should also mention that I'm not necessarily the target demographic and haven't been for a few years. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the good YA fantasy fiction book every now and again. (I've been called a perpetual teenager on more than one occasion.)

I'm going to try and keep this review as spoiler-free as possible. In case you haven't already gathered it from other reviews, or the book description itself, Twilight is about a young girl named Bella Swan who moves to Forks, Washington and finds herself in love with a vampire named Edward Cullen. The climax of the story happens when a vampire who doesn't abstain from feasting on humans, as the Cullen coven does, decides he wants Bella. Up until this point (first three quarters), the novel progresses at a moderate, but not lagging pace and then instantly picks up.

The book itself is a rather easy read, however, the characters seem somewhat shallow. Bella is supposed to be an honour student, but behaves exactly the opposite. Edward, who has been in existence for more than a hundred years, should be more intelligent and far wiser than is portrayed in his character. Armed with this tidbit about him, Meyer had plenty of room to play around and mold him into so much more, but never truly took that opportunity.

In fact, after finishing the first book (I've read both Twilight and New Moon), I wondered what a century old vampire might find utterly attractive in a seemingly average 17 year old girl, besides the fact that she smelled delectable, could pick out a common tune by Debussy, and had a penchant for identifying the mitotic phases of an onion. Even Bella herself wonders the same thing and makes it plainly obvious by asking almost every other page what this magnificent Adonis can possibly see in her, which became rather tiring.

(On another note, I'm still trying to figure out how any person with dark circles under his eyes and lavender eyelids can be likened to Adonis. It could just be me, but the way Meyer described their features, I couldn't help imagining a well-fed crack fiend half the time.)

While I don't understand how the love between Bella and Edward can be so true and deep as made out in the book, considering they only knew each other for a few months, I can understand how Bella formed such a strong attachment to Edward: he saved her life on more than one occasion and, in a sense, has become her personal Superman. Is this right thinking? Dunno, but I guess constantly saving a girl who can barely walk without tripping does equate to being inexplicably lovable.

By the end of the novel, I realized that Bella's character, though stubborn, was unbelievably insecure--more so than one would expect from the typical teenage girl--and Edward, arrogant as he can be, used this insecurity to his benefit (whether consciously or not), thus causing multiple crises of conscience for "putting [her] in harm's way".

When one really steps back from this novel and looks at the entire scope of it, the true dysfunction of their unhealthy relationship is obviously apparent.

Plus, Meyer's overuse of the word incredulous began grating on my senses, not to mention all the glaring, whining, cringing, grimacing, and her overwhelming need to append a "he said" or "she said" to almost every bit of dialog that transpired. (Surely, even truly young minds are able to keep up with the general flow of dialog). And let's not get started on the editing: You know the editor was asleep at the wheel, or either non-existent, when there's a glaring grammatical error within the first ten pages.

But, despite all of that, I enjoyed the book. Meyer is a wonderful storyteller. There was a cliffhanger at the end of each bite-sized chapter pressing the reader to continue on, if for no other reason than to see who else is glaring or grimacing at whom. The story also had a light-hearted comedic edge which played in its favor.

Rather than feeling as though I were trudging through a heavy piece of fantasy fiction, I was able to let my mind relax and float into the story as if I were watching some strangely intoxicating reality show about a clumsy teenage girl and a thoroughly confused vampire. In the end, despite their flaws and not fully understanding their logic or reasoning, I even enjoyed the characters Meyer created.

This is a novel you should pick up when you just want to shut off your brain for a little while and escape reality. Basically, you shouldn't try to read this novel with too serious an eye. Ideally, it should be read while curled up in your most comfortable outfit eating your favorite snack with the lights dimmed, and television and phone turned off.
1,243 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Maria Behar
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely enthralling and utterly romantic!!!!
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 27, 2013
Verified Purchase
Although I have read many vampire romances, both for adults and young adults, none of them have moved me as deeply as the books of The Twilight Saga, the first of which remains my favorite. The poignant, bittersweet tone of the writing, the wonderfully depicted characters, indeed, the story itself, have made me a lifelong fan!

Isabella Swan, usually known as Bella, leaves her beloved, sunny Phoenix for what she sees as the depressing, rain-drenched atmosphere of Forks, a town in the state of Washington. She's doing this so that her newly-remarried mother, Renee, can spend more time traveling with her husband, Phil, a minor league baseball player. Bella will be staying with her father, Charlie, who happens to be the town's police chief.

On her first day of school, Bella meets Edward, whose initial reaction to her is one of hostility. This puzzles her. After all, Edward doesn't know her from Eve. Little does she realize how she has really affected this boy she is already mysteriously drawn to....

Later in the story, we meet Jacob, a young Native American, who lives on the nearby Quileute reservation. During a conversation with Bella at a beach outing with her classmates, he hints that Edward and his family might be the original "Cold Ones", with whom Jacob's grandfather established a treaty, many years in the past. These creatures turn out to be vampires, a fact Bella verifies when she does an Internet search. She then realizes that the Cullens are, indeed, "the Cold Ones" Jacob had told her about.

Once she discovers the truth, she also discovers that she is madly in love with Edward, and that he is just as fiercely attracted to her. Throughout the book, they strive to deal with their unusual romance.

One of the most endearing aspects of the novel is Edward's strong family ties. I especially love Carlisle and Alice, although Emmett is definitely a blast! Jasper remains very enigmatic and mysterious, while Rosalie actively dislikes Bella, thus making me dislike her. Esme is very sweet and nurturing, and immediately starts to love Bella like a daughter.

Carlisle, as the family founder, is the one responsible for the ethical code the Cullens follow. They refuse to feed from humans, preferring to hunt animals instead. Edward jokingly refers to his family as 'vegetarians', but this is a very serious life choice they have made, one that sets them apart from most other vampires.

We also meet James, Victoria, and Laurent, nomadic vampires whose fateful encounter with the Cullens sets off the novel's drama, and highlights even more the strong love between Bella and Edward.

The romantic highlight of the book is the famous "meadow scene", in which Edward shows Bella why exactly why he and his family prefer to live in rainy, clouded-over Forks. When he removes his shirt, his skin sparkles brilliantly in the sunlight (it was one of those rare sunny days in the area). This is exactly what Stephenie Meyer saw in the dream that developed into this book. This is something I've never encountered before in vampire romance -- a vampire that sparkles in the sunlight. Instead of the usual avoidance of sunlight, because it will destroy them, Meyer's vampires avoid it because the sparkling will reveal them for what they are to the humans. Although this feature of the novel has been criticized as silly by some readers, I totally love it! It's not only original, but very creative, as well.

It's in the meadow that Edward first declares his love to Bella, with the famous line, "And so the lion fell in love with the lamb." This is very beautifully poetic. Indeed, Edward is an old-fashioned romantic (he is, after all, more than 100 years old, although he appears to be about 17) who woos Bella with intense gazes full of longing, and lines evocative of classic English literature. In today's cynical, crass world of casual sex, I found this to be very refreshing indeed. It also enchanted me, transporting me to a fantasy world in which true love does really matter, and lovers want to be with each other forever... Is this maudlin? Only for those with not an ounce of romance and poetry in their veins! To me, it was sheer magic!

Toward the middle and end of the book, Bella repeatedly asks Edward to turn her into a vampire, so she can stay with him forever. He refuses, claiming that this will put her soul in jeopardy. It is very touching to see how each is concerned about the other's welfare, although of course it is Edward who bears the major responsibility for keeping Bella safe.

I simply cannot say enough about this beautiful, exquisitely romantic novel. It has immortalized the love between "the lion and the lamb". This book is much, much more than just 'an entertaining read'. It is a lyrical tribute to the purity and steadfastness of true love.

I have already read this novel three times, and know that I shall read it yet again, and again... for a long time to come!
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


alaska
1.0 out of 5 stars yes. also, yes, and maybe
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 21, 2013
Verified Purchase
Yeugh. Ghlegh. Ugh. Gross. Haptooey. Eck. Nyachhhhh.

Six months after the fa--yueughhhhhhhhhhhuhhhh kaff kaff kaff--sorry--six months after the fact, Twilight still haunts me, day to day everywhere I look....and at night! with the nightmares only now starting to dissipate, letting alone my dreams to be dreams, not these hideous, sparkling monstrosities[1] that leave me a shuffling, unfeeling husk every morning. Only now can I finally get rid of this infernal, torn-up copy of Twilight[2][3]!

Let me just say right away that No, the reason this book gets one star is not due to bad writing (and o boy o boy it is bad let me tell you: we'll see some examples later[4]), but b/c the publishing of Twilight and the insane popularity it's gained is harmful to literature, harmful to art, and especially harmful to kids' minds.

What Stephenie Meyer did for what was once the budding, respected genre of adolescent literature was to bring a halt to all progress made since the yuppies and Reaganomics left the scene, pause a moment, and then take forty steps back, to before 1967 and before the publication of either Hinton's Outsiders and Zindel's Pigman, the two books that revolutionized adolescent fiction by taking it away from the right-wing didacticism that had plagued all A.L. since before and around WWII--when the concept of an adolescent developmental stage was really starting to be acknowledged--, teaching youngsters All-American Ideas & Ideals like abstinence, how to properly spot a Commie, the philosophy of D.A.R.E. and the Word of God (Amen). The adolescent voice authors like Zindel & Hinton & Myers used to bring a sense of reality to the wonderful realm of A.L. laid out the foundation of what would become the infinitely popular (and maybe even more-popular-w/-adults) Young Adult (YA) marketing tag--and Stephenie has the nerve to stare this history in the eye, scratch her head in bewilderment, and decide that what it needs is more godliness--and by godliness, I mean the Book of Mormon.

So now we know Stephenie Meyer suffers from a psychiatric disorder and/or is developmentally delayed enough to reintroduce didacticism to malleable minds searching for freedom thru literature that's been speaking to them, like to their souls, man, since the late sixties. Even Stephen King thinks she's a joke. On with the story! and Bella's unfulfilled passion that can only be released upon a beautiful knight-in-sparklinglittering-armor[5][6] come to rescue her from the mundane life in strangely inaccurate and unreal visions of Phoenix AZ[7] and Forks WA[8]...

Bella, Our Heroine, in a nutshell:

Pg. 117: I tried to keep up better this time through the woods, so naturally I fell a few times.
Pg. 191: "I fall down a lot when I run."
Pg. 210: "[I'm] so clumsy that I'm almost disabled."
Pg. 212: "Are you referring to the fact that you can't walk across a flat, stable surface without finding something to trip over?"
Pg. 221: I somehow managed to hit myself in the head with my racket...
Pg. 231: The pressure made me more clumsy than usual...
Pg. 284: "Bella, I've already expended a great deal of personal effort at this point to keep you alive."
Pg. 442: I tripped several times, once falling.
Pg. 485: ...I fell down a lot...

Ahh, my friends! my friends, take a gander, take a glimpse with your eyes your mind and your very soul! now at Edward, simplified:

Pg. 253: He wasn't smiling at first....He laughed....He chuckled....He laughed again.
Pg. 256: ...godlike creature...
Pg. 258: He smiled....He smirked....His smirk grew more pronounced.
Pg. 260: ...literally sparkled, like thousands of tiny diamonds were embedded in the surface.
Pg. 285: ...he simply bent his face to mine, and brushed his lips slowly along my jaw, from my ear to my chin, back and forth. I trembled.
Pg. 287: The light of the setting orb glittered off his skin in ruby-tinged sparkles.
Pg. 292: ...godlike creature......dreamlike in his beauty, but no longer the fantastic sparkling creature of our sunlit afternoon.
Pg. 302: He laughed his quiet, musical laugh. He's laughed more tonight than I'd ever heard in all the time I'd spent with him.
Pg. 306: I could feel his cool breath on my neck, feel his nose sliding along my jaw, inhaling....He chuckled, and then sighed....He chuckled.
Pg. 333: His smile widened over his brilliant teeth....He smiled.
Pg. 338: He chuckled darkly....He laughed.
Pg. 339: ...he sighed....He smiled half a smile....he said, smiling.
Pg. 341: ...a gentle angel's smile lit his expression.
Pg. 344: He shrugged, smiling slightly......his smile faded and his forehead creased......a faint smile touched his lips.
Pg. 345: Then he flashed a wide, wicked smile....he chuckled....he grinned....he just laughed.
Pg. 346: ...was still chuckling quietly....was grinning.
Pg. 349: He assured me with a grin....he smiled...he grinned widely.
Pg. 362 His nose drew a line up the skin of my throat to the point of my chin.
Pg. 473: His mouth looked as if it was chiseled from stone.
Pg. 486: He grinned, and then chuckled.

This, of course, does not take into consideration all the scowls, smirks (used incorrectly...), smug expressions, frowns, sighs, wry smiles, crooked smiles, laughs, grimaces, mocking smiles, chuckles, jaw clenches, snorts, half-smiles, muses, grins, gleamings of teeth, groans, flashings of ochre eyes &c. made pre-pg. 253 and after pg. 362 (excepting the 1), and is really only about half the # of examples from b/w those very same 109 pgs. When Bella and Edward share a scene, Stephenie Meyer turns to stupidly swooning over her own (lack of an) imagination and is thus unable to think or write clearly, & really, as a reader already dragged through the mud, I'm happy happy as long as Meyer please to God does not once more draw the disturbing, unarousing im--his nose gliding to the corner of my jaw--OH DEAR LORD IT BURNS! STOP IT! STOP IT, PLEASE!

Stephenie's inability to create well-developed, 3-dimensional characters thru Bella, Edward, Jacob ("Cool," he smiled), Jessica, Mike, Tyler, &c. &c. &c., her obvious use of a Thesaurus at times[9], the super-cliché storyline that doesn't kick in until arnd. page 370 at which time the Bad Guys are introduced by literally coming out of left field during a game of vampire baseball and with a villain that not surprisingly stoops to explaining his master plan while saying "But of course..." not once but twice in one single paragraph w/ only one short little lonely sentence to separate them and a professional doctor suggesting Edward suck venom back out thru a wound made 5+ minutes prior and it works, and the raging sexism[10] leave me on my knees begging and blathering, Why in the hell was this published? Why is this such a huge success?

I can only recommend it to Mormon soccer moms wishing to murder their child's creativity early on, before it has a chance to become much of a bother.

& I failed at not rambling. There's too much and I'm sick of trying.

5%

-----
"Oh well. He is unbelievably gorgeous." Jessica shrugged as if this excused any flaws. Which, in her book, it probably did.
-----

[1] Homoerotic, sparkling monstrosities.
[2] Which I'm ashamed to admit I bought new: Stephenie Meyer has my $$.
[3] Having looked through it and gathered all the necessary observations I had left, all the instances I circled overused word X, or clumsy sentence Y, or whatever, in total making up like 6 or 7 pages of notes and quotes, so forgive me while I attempt to arrange them w/o rambling or overdoing it[3a].
[3a] (too much)
[4] It's amazing when you come to the Acknowledgements page after the story is (thank God) over to see Meyer thanking her editor for all her help in making Twilight better than it started out. Like, can you even imagine how bad this book was before an editor got her hands on it?
[5] B/c Meyer hates anyone who wouldn't be at home in a GAP commercial.
[6] In keeping with the didactic past, Our Heroine, Bella, is exaggerated as an unheroic figure. She can't live w/o her man, can't do anything but stumble head-first into life-or-death situations dazed & confused & wasting everyone's time talking about listening to her favorite CD and trying to memorize the lyrics LIKE ANYONE CARES[6a][6b].
[6a] (I concentrated very carefully on the music, trying to understand the lyrics, to unravel the complicated drum patterns. By the third time I'd listened through the CD, I knew all the words to the choruses, at least. I was surprised to find that I really did like the band after all, once I got past the blaring noise. I'd have to thank Phil again.)
[6b] In fact, about 95% of chapter 7 serves no purpose to the story and could/should be cut from this bloated mess.
[7] And she, like, lives there.
[8] A town now existing & surviving solely on the fame Meyer's books have given it, understandably, since this place was like Twin Peaks & most nonfictional small towns in Washington beforehand: a crumbling logging community. Stephenie Meyer Day 2009 was recently held on Sept. 12th and 13th [sic].
[9] E.g., His eyes seemed to narrow infinitesimally or He sat sinuously or even I reached forward...to touch his folded hands, but he slid them away minutely. Also she misuses the word `coven' (among others) multiple times.
[10] "I'll be the first to admit that I have no experience with relationships," I said. "But it just seems logical...a man and a woman have to be somewhat equal...as in, one of them can't always be swooping in and saving the other one. They have to save each other equally." This out-of-character quote from Bella towards the end serves as some sort of failed attempt at making a feminist point by the author--failed b/c it clearly goes against the entire Mormon message behind Twilight.

[Written October 2009 for LibraryThing. Years later...I kinda want to re-read it and then finish the series for fun. Is that weird? I've come to enjoy teen romance / supernatural books, oddly, but I don't know if I could forgive this book much for the serious complaints mentioned occasionally in the garbage above.]
6 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


  • ←Previous page
  • Next page→

Questions? Get fast answers from reviewers

Ask
Please make sure that you are posting in the form of a question.
Please enter a question.
See all 5 answered questions

Need customer service? Click here
‹ See all details for Twilight: The Twilight Saga, Book 1

Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations
›
View or edit your browsing history
After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Back to top
Get to Know Us
  • Careers
  • Amazon Newsletter
  • About Amazon
  • Accessibility
  • Sustainability
  • Press Center
  • Investor Relations
  • Amazon Devices
  • Amazon Science
Make Money with Us
  • Sell products on Amazon
  • Sell apps on Amazon
  • Supply to Amazon
  • Protect & Build Your Brand
  • Become an Affiliate
  • Become a Delivery Driver
  • Start a Package Delivery Business
  • Advertise Your Products
  • Self-Publish with Us
  • Host an Amazon Hub
  • ›See More Ways to Make Money
Amazon Payment Products
  • Amazon Visa
  • Amazon Store Card
  • Amazon Secured Card
  • Amazon Business Card
  • Shop with Points
  • Credit Card Marketplace
  • Reload Your Balance
  • Amazon Currency Converter
Let Us Help You
  • Amazon and COVID-19
  • Your Account
  • Your Orders
  • Shipping Rates & Policies
  • Amazon Prime
  • Returns & Replacements
  • Manage Your Content and Devices
  • Your Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
  • Help
English
United States
Amazon Music
Stream millions
of songs
Amazon Advertising
Find, attract, and
engage customers
6pm
Score deals
on fashion brands
AbeBooks
Books, art
& collectibles
ACX
Audiobook Publishing
Made Easy
Sell on Amazon
Start a Selling Account
 
Amazon Business
Everything For
Your Business
Amazon Fresh
Groceries & More
Right To Your Door
AmazonGlobal
Ship Orders
Internationally
Home Services
Experienced Pros
Happiness Guarantee
Amazon Ignite
Sell your original
Digital Educational
Resources
Amazon Web Services
Scalable Cloud
Computing Services
 
Audible
Listen to Books & Original
Audio Performances
Book Depository
Books With Free
Delivery Worldwide
Box Office Mojo
Find Movie
Box Office Data
ComiXology
Thousands of
Digital Comics
DPReview
Digital
Photography
Fabric
Sewing, Quilting
& Knitting
 
Goodreads
Book reviews
& recommendations
IMDb
Movies, TV
& Celebrities
IMDbPro
Get Info Entertainment
Professionals Need
Kindle Direct Publishing
Indie Digital & Print Publishing
Made Easy
Amazon Photos
Unlimited Photo Storage
Free With Prime
Prime Video Direct
Video Distribution
Made Easy
 
Shopbop
Designer
Fashion Brands
Amazon Warehouse
Great Deals on
Quality Used Products
Whole Foods Market
America’s Healthiest
Grocery Store
Woot!
Deals and
Shenanigans
Zappos
Shoes &
Clothing
Ring
Smart Home
Security Systems
 
eero WiFi
Stream 4K Video
in Every Room
Blink
Smart Security
for Every Home
Neighbors App
Real-Time Crime
& Safety Alerts
Amazon Subscription Boxes
Top subscription boxes – right to your door
PillPack
Pharmacy Simplified
Amazon Renewed
Like-new products
you can trust
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Notice
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
© 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates