Twilight by Stephanie Myer- Review by Carlyn

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Before you start, no I have not been living under a rock and don’t be such a snob. I know some people consider the Twilight series as a blight on literature but I think that sometimes books just have to be entertaining.

 I recently bought the entire collection of Twilight books second hand for twelve dollars. I’ve previously read some of the Twilight books but have never finished the series. So I want to finish the series and discover what my feelings are towards the books now that the hype has faded.  I confess, I had some disdain when I first read Twilight some years ago. I was a big Harry Potter fan and J.K Rowling is a phenomenal writer so when I read Twilight, I felt that Stephanie Myer’s writing was mediocre and too simplistic. Now I don’t compare Twilight with anything else and appreciate the books.

Some day Twilight will fade into obscurity so here is the gist of Twilight for when that day comes and someone reads this review. Twilight is about seventeen years old Bella Swan who goes to live with her dad after her mum remarries. Her dad lives in small town called Forks where it rains a lot and nothing much happens. On her first day at her new high school, she notices a beautiful group of teenagers and is drawn to one particular boy. His name is Edward Cullen and he is a vampire. The two fall in love which has complications since he wants to eat her but he resists. Bella wants to be with him forever but Edward views vampirism as a curse.

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The love between Bella and Edward is all consuming and very little happens in the book until the end. Bella is quite a passive person who is not very interested in the world around her . Edward is aware that Bella should experience life so encourages her to forget him and reach the typical milestones for her age.

Some of the criticism about Twilight is that Bella Swan and Edward are idealized characters. Bella has most of the boys in town in love with her; she’s brave yet extremely fragile and clumsy. Edward is a gentleman, handsome, sensitive and protective. I once watched an interview where the reporter asked a fan why they liked Twilight. The fan said that it perfectly captures first love. The books show how when first in love, people are in adoration of each other and are willing to do almost anything for each other. I think that Twilight shows a girl’s fantasy of love as Edward is Bella’s knight in shining armor.  

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Personally I like Bella and Edward. I like Bella because she cares deeply for the people she loves and although she needs to be rescued twice, she tries to find her own way out of danger. The flaws I don’t like about her is the anguish she feels at certain stressful points in the book. I wanted her to get it together as it was really more of a time to focus and figure out what to do next.  I liked Edward because he’s a knight in shining armour.

I look forward to reading the rest of the books. I pretty much have an idea of what happens due to its popularity.

Do you have any guilty pleasures?