My friend Alisa tipped me off to Twilight several months ago. She hadn't actually read the book, but she said a lot of the girls at her school were reading it. I picked it up at the library and read it shortly after Blake was born. It was definitely a page turner and a fun read, but something just didn't sit well with me. At the beginning of the book I really like the main character, Bella. She seemed smart and likeable. But, as the story progressed I felt like her brain just turned to mush. Maybe I'm not romantic enough. Twilight was this month's bookclub pick, and it was really a mixed bag. A lot of people loved it, and a lot of people didn't. It seemed that a lot of people were not trilled that this was being marketed as an LDS book for teens. While the content was not necessarily objectionable, it just portrayed falling in love as being something that is solely based on physical attraction. When I started the book I didn't know that it was the first of three books. Now I find that the author actually has plans for at least seven or eight in the series. While I am curious to find out what happens next, I'm not sure I love the characters enough to invest in reading six or seven more books. This is definitely not Harry Potter quality writing. I'm surprised how popular this book has become. Everywhere I go I see people reading it, and everyone is talking about it. For that reason alone, I might decide to keep reading. What do you think? Did you read it? Did you love it or hate it?
3 comments:
I read all 3 in one week. 1500 pages in 7 days and loved it! I am a huge lover of the book and was bothered that I missed the discussion at book club since I was running late with a primary meeting. I was slighty disturbed that people were so uproarious over a fiction book. First of all, when Steph Meyer sold the book she gave up all right as to how it was published. I think to advertise to young adults in this case is fine. I "heard" that girls at the book club were upset at the author for writing it and disturbed that girls in the ward had read it. To that I say.... come on, its fiction! The young women in our ward are smart enough to get that, and to understand Bella's thoughts, action and desires are way different than theirs. It comes down to being cognizant of others lifestyles and the culture of people outside our little bubble. As for the author being LDS and writing a book that touches on moral issues.. Edward wants to wait for marriage, nothing happens and just because its the right thing to do.. doesnt mean that sex before marriage isnt a topic that the average teenager ponders on. Okay sorry I went off but I loved the BOOK!
I liked all three books quite a bit, but have to admit, I don't like my young women reading them. I wouldn't want them doing many of the things Bella does with her boyfriend. Every Laurel in our ward except one right now has a boyfriend and none of them are LDS. (There literally are only 2 LDS guys at their high school) I prefer they don't fantasize about boyfriends and think that you have to have a boyfriend in high school, yet Bella's world ended when her boyfriend was no longer.
I'm like you, Jessica...my feeling on this book (and the others in the series) are mixed. I read Twilight a few years ago when it first came out. A girl in my book group in Kentucky is cousin to Stephenie Meyer, so we read it the first week it was even out! Since then, I've heard lots of good AND bad opinions about it. Personally, it sucked me in big time, but at the same time, I was a little embarrassed that a teenage romance could do that! I didn't like the 2nd book as much, and by the 3rd, I was VERY sick of Bella and her flippity-floppity ways. I'm not sure I can handle 3 or 4 more books of this drawn out saga...I think she should have ended it with 3. I'm not really a series kinda girl. I still haven't made it past the 4th Harry Potter, and I really do like them. It just seems like it DRAAAGGGS on and on to me.
Post a Comment