Some people read the book first, others saw the movie first. I belong to the latter club.
Some people are Team Edward, some are Team Jacob. I am Team Bella’s Dad.
The phenomenon surrounding this story is almost as big as Harry Potter….almost.
So, why is this? The movie adaptation clearly helped Meyer buy herself an extra house or two. But, is the story really strong enough to warrant my mate getting herself an Edward Cullen lunch box?
I have already admitted to watching the movie first. And for the first half (and majority of the second), I wondered when the story was going to get a much needed shot of adrenaline. Where was the excitement? This was a vampire film after all. But, even after saying all this, I still sort of enjoyed it. Once I knew it wasn’t an ‘action’ type film, I watched it a second time for what it was….Basically, a bad romance.
Still, is it romantic enough to be one of the biggest hits of 2005 and then again in 2008? It’s not exactly Pride and Prejudice or Brief Encounter.
Is it that women (I wish I could say teenagers, but seeing as most my friends are lusting after these characters, I really can’t), are obsessed with the idea that loving a vampire is sexy? Or, is it just an unhealthy obsession with Taylor Lautner’s six pack and Robert Pattison’s…..er, what does he have?
So, armed with all this information, and while waiting for my flight at LAX, I took the plunge and purchased the paperback version. I’m ashamed to admit, I’d read half of it by the time I touched down at Heathrow, and finished it the following day.
Now, I am not a reader of young adult. I am 40 years old and prefer characters my own age – or a least a little closer to it. That’s not to say I don’t like young adult stories. I just sometimes think writers forget the kids are supposed to be teens, and as such let them run around like adults (not mentioning any names **cough cough** Vampire Diaries).
So, what’s this book about?
if you didn’t already know. Even my mum knows what this story is about. But, for the one person who’s been stranded inEureka for the past eight years, let me explain.
Twilight is a romance about a ‘human’ girl called Bella, who falls in love with a, more white than sparkly, vampire called Edward. And, wouldn’t you just know it? Her life becomes endangered; although it takes until the end of the film to get to this issue.
So, what kept me interested?
Honestly? I am still trying to figure that out. This story has been done a thousand times before, and much, much better. Let’s see, for one there was Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Angel sent hearts fluttering across the nation. Mine, though, belonged to Spike, and, umm, Giles 🙂
And, I don’t believe for one minute Stephanie Meyer’s inspirational story of I dreamt of two people one night and when I woke up I just had to start writing to see who they were. If there is any truth to that statement, you can paint me blue and call me Smurfette.
And……., even though I am NOT a fan of the Vampire Diary books, I do feel sorry for their author L J Smith. Twilight is a complete rip off!
And……., Stephanie is so repetitive; I kept thinking she’d started the novel again.
And……., Bella is horrid! What kind of protagonist is she? There is nothing endearing about her at all. She is the biggest wimp ever! I mean, how many times can a girl faint for crying out loud? No wonder Hollywood toughened her up a little for the movie….albeit into the nastiest bitch going. Still, anything has to be an improvement, right?
Would I read another Stephanie Meyer book?
After much deliberation, which took all of a split second, I would have to say ‘no’. After I finished the Twilight novel it was ‘yes’, as I read the whole series. However, now it is ‘no’. In fact it is ‘HELL NO!’ I’ve only read the book once and have no desire to read it again. I’d rather watch the film for a couple of hours and then get on with life again. And, I’d only watch the film again if I’d already finished polishing the coal in my fireplace.
I don’t actually think Meyer is a particularly strong writer. When I reflect on Twilight, I don’t see the characters as very strong. The Twilight franchise went on two books too long, three if you count the Edward version. There was an Edward version, wasn’t there? I didn’t dream that. Or did I? And, I’m certain that if you cut all the repetition, you’d have a novel three quarters the size.
Rant over!
Now, I know I’m going to be hung, drawn, and quartered, but I have to ask….
Have you read this book? What did you think of it? Have you read any other Stephanie Meyer novels? Have you seen the movie version? Let me know.
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Donna Collins' Blog 
I read Twilight – and I read it quite quickly and then read the rest of the series (not the Edward version though). But I enjoyed it knowing it was a trash romance, and definitely wouldn’t read them again. I read the books because all my work mates were raving about them – I’m still trying to figure out why.
I actually thought that the book was better than the film, because for me Bella’s character just didn’t work on screen. Yes, she was (completely) wimpy in the book, but on screen you didn’t get any sense of what she was feeling. At least I didn’t.
Oh, and I am definitely with you on Buffy – my heart also belonged to Spike. And let’s not forget Oz the werewolf – he was just a really likeable character.
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Yo, Spike lover!
I quickly lost interest as I ploughed through the books. I just don’t see the attraction to them at all.
Oh, and Oz should never have left Buffy! Bring back OZ!!!! 😀
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I’ve read all the Twilight books and have to say I agree with your assessment Donna. They were fun to read at the time but I don’t think I’ll be reading them ever again (actually I no longer have them – I gave them to my mum to read. They’re her problem now. Mwa ha ha ha!)
The biggest problem for me was Bella; she was such an annoying character and a terrible role model for the kind of young girls these books were aimed for. Be a Buffy, not a Bella, I say… at least Buffy could look after herself. I also had massive problems with how Bella treated the two love interests. She plays them against each other, even if she does so unintentionally, and the books pretty much endorse this notion that a girl’s life is only complete if she has a boyfriend. My own boyfriend in fact was appalled at Bella’s behaviour in the films and said that Jacob and Edward should both dump her and find themselves some hot Vampire/Werewolf ladies instead. I think I preferred his version.
I thought the later books were much better, as the story got a bit beyond the whole romance thing. But even with the problems I have with the books I can see why they were popular. The romance is very old fashioned and with the extra paranormal aspects it makes the stories interesting and keeps you reading. I just hope not too many young girls take this as a lesson in how to woo a man…
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Alexa, thank you so much for your comment. I cannot remember which film it was – I think the third one – when Bella cuddled Jacob, flirted with Edward, kissed Jacob, and then went off with Edward. The guy behind me at the cinema summed it up by yelling out “What a Bitch!”.
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Confession time from me…… I watched the first film before reading the books, loved the film (the bad romance of it, as I`m a real romantic and love all the slush that goes with it), I also loved the way it was shot! I then proceeded to read all 4 books over the Easter period, read them in 4 days and loved the books, they are much better than the films! Especially loving the final book the most.
I have become hooked and much to my teenagers dismay, have become a Twilight Mom!! Even daring to wear my Twilight T-Shirt, Hoodie, badge and take my Twilight bag along to the cinema for New Moon!! Yes yes very sad but look I`m 42, single and up for any opportunity I can get to see some gorgeous young male, shirtless, flashing his six pack!! 😉 I can sit and dream my prince or be it, vampire, will sweep me off my feet and love me with such passion! well we are all allowed to fantasise and I can`t help the fact that in my head, at times I am 17!!
All that said and done, they pass the time and I have found it is something I can share with my teenagers, and we can laugh about 🙂
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Sharon,
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear……but having known you for 20 years, it doesn’t surprise me 😀 xxxx
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I read Twilight. Once. New Moon is languishing dust covered on the bottom of my TBR pile and will likely remain there unless I literally have nothing else to do. I also saw the first two movies, but that’s probably all I’ll make an effort at. I figured as much hubub as there was, I must be missing something. Instead, I just found the whole thing irritating.
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WARNING*****WARNING******WARNING******* SEVERE DANGER TO YOUR HEALTH******
Do not read anymore Twilight books
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Best review I have read on Twilight.
I am ashamed to admit I own the books and movies except for Eclipse (no money when it came out and have yet to care.)
Before eyes start rolling, I want to know I bought them so I know where to go to so I know how NOT to write a story. What Ms. Meyer does well is rip off Vampire Diaries and tell a good story.
Is this a classic? I hope not and don’t think so.
Great blog, Donna.
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Hi Terrell, my little guru.
Wow, best review eh? I feel flattered. I thought my comments were going to be nothing but death threats 😀
Love ya xxxx
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I picked up Twilight because someone reccommended them too me and raved about how great they were. I got about 100 pages in before I had to put it down. Finally, I picked it up and read it through because I was trying to understand what the hype is about – and because as an aspiring writer I wanted to see if I could figure out what Meyer was doing that made these books so over the top successful. I even read the rest of them just to see if it got any better. To be honest, I still don’t know what the appeal is, and those are roughly 48 hours of my life I can’t get back.
A vampire who lives for 100+ years and the best he can do is perpetually repeat high school and date the angsty, stuck up girl? Sorry, dont see the appeal at all there. Worse, Meyer has said several times that she wants Bella to be a role model for young women. Really? I hope she meant a model of what not to be, because Bella is perpetually helpless, whiny, outright nasty to her friends, and plays an ugly game with the two boys who love her. She also puts up with Edward being an outright stalker who is controlling, deceptive and outright dangerous for her. If someone disconnects the battery on your car so you can’t drive on your own, sneaks into your room at night to watch you sleep, or resents you spending time with your friends – shouldn’t we be teaching young girls that this is dangerous behaviour not calling it romance?
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Hey babe. I never knew that about Meyer; saying Bella should be a role model for young girls! If my daughter acted in the same way……well, let’s just say she’d be grounded until she had grey hair!
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Thank you SO much for this post. I haven’t seen any of the films, but I read all four books a couple of summers ago.
There are a lot of things that I can say about Twilight, its subtext and its content, but Rebekah covers that above. What really kills me from the perspective of a writer is how darned sloppy SM is. The 4th book is just an utter mess, filled with grammatical and spelling errors, and a plot that is just utterly ridiculous — tension that builds and builds and then completely fizzes out, clunky red herrings… it reads like a terrible fan fiction, and it makes me a little angry that it was even published.
However, I will say that when I read the first book, I realized that it was exactly what I would’ve been obsessed with when I was 13 years old. As it is, when I was 13 I was obsessed with ‘Vampire Diaries,’ which is, as you say, what SM clearly ripped off. That REALLY bugs me, because if my memories serve me correctly, Vampire Diaries was a lot better.
Excellent analysis!
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Hi Jamila.
What a great reply. I didn’t even finish the fourth book. I valued my sanity (or what’s left of it) too much. Oh, and I think I read the Vampire Diaries just 23 years too late 😀
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I read the sample pages for kindle (yes, I know, but I love my kindle) and didn’t buy the book. Which says a lot because there are 126 books on my kindle where I did read the sample and then buy the book. It didn’t grab me and I’m glad you thought the writing was poor, because I thought it was too. In fact, I thought it was disappointing. Sadly it isn’t necessarily good writing that sells books.
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Jamie, I thought Stephen King and I were the only people on the planet that thought this about Meyer’s writing. I’m astounded that people are agreeing with me. Oh, and you didn’t miss anything in the books that followed either. 😀
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I read all four (well skimmed the last one), and have seen the movies. i liked the first book, probably because when i was a teenager i went for all that angsty teenage romance. The movies? The first i thought was cheesy and the rest I’m embarrassed to admit I enjoyed because of T.L. (but in a totally sculpture on a pedestal in a museum way, since i’m old enough to be his mother).
Thanks for the interesting review!
ps- i was Team Spike all the way.
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Coleen, I was in the cinema with my friends (who are all Twilight’ nutters), and when Taylor Lautner removed his top, they gasped so loud I wanted to die of embarassement. As you point out – we are old enough to be his mother! LOL. Give me Paul Walker and Timmy Olyphant any day and twice on Sunday 😀
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I have a house with 2 teenage girls and they are “Twi-Hards.” Don’t get me started on how naughty that sounds.
I’m not yet published, while reading the twilight series I did think to myself numerous times how the likes of Janet Reid would have probably demolished Meyers. But… the series has made a fortune. And that is what makes the world go ’round.
Then I thought about the “recipe.” What does Bella want? Edward. And she got him fairly early. The major conflict didn’t happen until the end. So, I found myself banging my head on the table.
Sadly, I must admit, the last movie comes out on my birthday and while I’m not as excited about my teenagers, I am looking forward to it. I’m a sucker for vampires 😉 I always have been.
Excellent review – I suggest Kevlar though! Way too many Twi-Hards out there!
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Excellent review! I read the books last summer and I think I saw the first movie — that’s how much it gripped me. I kept reading thinking that the story would grow in to something intense and amazing but all it did was sink. I finished the last book and wondered how the series ever got published and why anyone decided to make turn it in to film.
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Thanks Patricia. I stopped reading the last book for fear of slipping into a coma. If I read that baby touching one more cheek, it would have sent me over the edge. God knows how they are going to get two films from it.
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It does say something a little sad that this is the series that has captivated culture the past few years. I saw the first movie with a friend whose husband refused to go with her. Then I went to the MIDNIGHT premier of the second film because self same husband was afraid. Such an experience I have never had. Waves of female sighs as if there were neon cue cards instead of EXIT signs in the theatre. The woman sitting next to me, older than me, maybe old enough to have enjoyed Buffy, flapped her arms around her face the first time shirtless whats-his-name was on screen.
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LOL. Some women have no shame. Give me Timmy Olyphant or Paul Walker any day of the week 😀
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[…] From the ground in Merry Ol’ England, Donna Newton gives a double whammy. First, she gives us an account of The London Riots then a great review of Twilight. […]
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I was actually planning to read it. The movies sucked, but I thought the books would be better. Surely. However, I will now consider myself fairly warned.
Oh yes, why the hell did they get rid of Oz anyway?
Thanks for the heads up.
Prudence
http://www.prudencemacleod.com/
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Maybe we should start a ‘Bring Back Oz’ group? 🙂
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Oh, I’ll toss my two cents in as well, though they’re mostly an echo of yours.
I loved the Twilight *story*, but loathed the writing style. And I spent a great deal of time gritting my teeth as Bella moaned on and on in her angst-y way. There was nothing redeeming about her character and I found Hollywood’s choice of actress infuriatingly perfect that way.
That being said…I read all the books in about a week, woefully neglecting my children in order to do so. A girlfriend and I rented the movie and sat with giddy pleasure, waiting for “the kiss” like a couple of 12-year-old girls.
And it was awesome.
But like my teenaged years, I have no desire to revisit that angst.
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LOL, Liz – that kiss wasn’t the worse I’d seen. I was told by a very reliable source during a meeting that the upcoming ‘Breaking Dawn’ is supposed to be extremely steamy 😀
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TWILIGHT is what inspired me to finally get off my hind end and write instead of always talking about writing. But not for the reason you might think.
My oldest son’s girlfriend forced him to read the first book and he couldn’t stand it. He assumed it was because he wasn’t much of a reader. When I asked him why he said, “because I’m always the villain,” (my son is very handsome). When I asked my next oldest son why he didn’t read he said, “because teen books make boys sound all date-rapey.”
I spent a day researching young adult novels, hell bent on proving them wrong and found they were right. There were little to no books out there for boys with a realistic male protagonist. So I set out to write one.
Once I did my writing group told me that unless I threw in a vampire or made the protagonist a girl I had no hope of being published. I spent another day online to prove them wrong and found that most of the publishing world shared their perspective. A very humbling experience.
So while I’m proud that I stuck to my guns and self-published the book I wanted to write, I can’t help but have respect for an industry that knows what the public wants and gives it to them; no matter how much that disappoints me.
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Thanks for a wonderful reply. You’re very welcome to add a link to your book here 🙂
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Gladly!My ebook is available through Amazon UK. Thanks again! It’s called THE GODS OF ASPHALT.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005IQ1FT6
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DO you have a link to buy your book for the SONY prs t1 reader? i would looooooove to read it. ePub or PDF.
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