Twilight: The Twilight Saga, Book 1 (by Stephenie Meyer)

All right. First of all, I hated this book pretty bad. I mean, it had an okay plot and all, and when I read it the first time I said to myself, "Well, all right. This is an okay book." Until I read it a second time. I'm a book freak, and the first time I read a book that actually interests me (I'm an extreme book critic as well) I sort of gloss over the flaws in it. Until I read it a second time. I read Twilight once more, sort of half-skimming through the pages, and then notice one thing that really bugs me, since I'm a half author, half editor (Well, very nearly, and no, I do not vomit out some vampire crap): Spelling, punctuation, and, most of all, grammer mistakes. It's one of my biggest pet-peeves besides socks and pillows, as well as the texture of my walls (I know; I'm a strange one). The second thing I just happened to notice was that Bella, the main character, is a really big whiner. Now, whiners also annoy me, and I started to think, "Now why the heck did I read this book in the first place?" Bella also depends too much on Edward, who sort of gives off some creepy stalker vibes and an impression of a serial killer (Seriously, I had nightmares of him stalking me. Just a tad strange). And then I read, once more, the part of how he sparkles. Really, now, we know Edward is hot (In the book), but you're seriously overdoing it now. I'm thinking, "Really? Does he really need to SPARKLE?" Then I noticed the dad, Charlie. He's the worst dad ever, or haven't you noticed that? I thought I noticed you noticing. Seriously, though; all he does is sit around and watch TV, talks to Bella about once a week, goes fishing every day and leaves the kid unsupervised, and doesn't seem to really give a crap about the poor girl. No wonder she's such a whiner and willing to have any man, right? I also noticed that Meyer adds tons of weird and unrelated details to the book, the h--- word is used every once in a while, and, the biggest problem of all I read in Newmoon, Bella gets a little on the suicidal side. Seriously, she got my friend thinking that jumping off a cliff is really cool and fun and that she should try it as well. Meyers has also gotten two of my friends thinking that they're vampires, and she got my friend on drugs lined with BLOOD. Seriously. I'm getting a bit worried about our society and the Twilight series. My other friend is a literal addict of it, and it's creeping me out about how loyal she is to the books/movies. And yet another thing: Bella has no personality. She's all whiney and dependant, yes, but pretty much nothing else. Even in the movies (Really bad acting, by the way), the person who plays her has like, this blank stare the entire time. Even when the one guy kisses her at lunch, she's giving the girl next to her a look that says, "What? Did I pee myself again?" It just...bothers me. It's unnatural. And little ten-year-old girls, believe what you will. But really, you shouldn't be reading this stuff. Why not read Catherine Called Birdy? Best and most funny book of all time about this stubborn, personality-packed girl who's being forced to get married--to the ugliest, most disgusting man ever. But will she have to marry him? Not if Birdy can help it, with a little luck with accidentally catching the privy (bathroom house) on fire and running away multiple times (She always comes back to her friends, of course). Now THAT is a good book!

The relationship between the two protagonists at a glance seems romantic, but the messages the book sends out is a definitely abusive relationship between two young adults who aren't ready for a relationship yet. The main protagonist dedicates her life to him. He tells her he loves her, but then to go away. Not very healthy. I don't think this book is good at all; it was a long, drawn-out read. The characters had very little depth; paper thin, one might say. Younger children, whom are easily influenced, should avoid this series due to the messages it sends out. As a vampire fan myself, I found Meyer's 'creations' to be a FAR cry from folklore and myth; PLEASE do not think of this as a good vampire romance, as it is not even close to it.

It's Twilight, is there anything else to add? I got this book because of how popular it was. I'm pretty mainstream when it comes to books. But this was the worst book ever! Okay, my thoughts on this book... For a romance, it's completely dumb and I wouldn't never recommend it. Here are my reasons. It is extremely anti climactic. Vampires sparkle in this book, what a pathetic thing for a vampire to do! I expected him to rise up in the air with fire spurting out of his mouth, his eyes burning out of their sockets and his skin become chard and black...but no...he sparkles. The author is a quack, she thinks of the weirdest things. The end of the book was descent enough, but mediocre to say the least. The characters are weak and Bella is a completely obsessive person who makes wrong decisions for her boyfriend stalker, Edward. This book encourages kids to not take drugs (in this case cough syrup)...unless there's a hot boy in the equation. It's also okay to be stalked, I mean, who doesn't find it hott to be stalked!? And having a creepy boy watching girls sleep, no that's not a pervert at all! Edward Cullen, the boyfriend stalker, also is very sexist. He wants to protect Bella with the simplest things--which is not what life is about. She worships him as if he were a god, but this is stupid. She’s not independent, and I feel that if girls read this book, they will not think of the flaws, but only how Edward Cullen is hott! I haven't bothered to read the second book because it was boring and had negative messages—but I heard Bella jumps off a cliff after Edward dumps her. I also feel the author was a very religious person, involving old customs into this book. What I'm trying to say is that, I don't not like it for the plot--I hate it for its message and the way the plot was pieced together. It also made me want to puke with how romantic it was. It could have been more interesting, but it failed miserably. The movie was surprisingly better.

Mrs. Meyer is a young, prolific 34 year old author with NO teenage children. I'd like to know for whom she writes these books.

As all the hype about this started up around me, I decided to buy all four (what a mistake) books and read them. As I finished Twilight I wondered why on Earth was there so much w=hype about it? I simply couldn't identify with Bella, as all she seemed to do was whine and complain and by the end (or maybe even the middle) I was sick sick sick of reading about Edward's "marble dazzling chest" and "smoldering topaz eyes". It seems like Mrs. Meyer simply did not know when to stop, because some books just shouldn't have been written- The Twilight Saga is a perfect example.

This book is incredibly boring. The characters are very one-dimensional, with no real depth, especially Bella. The plot lacks good development. The biggest problem I have with the book is the fact that stephanie meyer obviously did no research on the mythical creatures. Not only do the vampires not get weakened by sunlight, the SPARKLE. They do all sorts of things real vampires would never do. I hate this book.

Sucky. Just plain ol' sucky. Sparkling vampires? What is this...? And what's with Bella's personalityless...ness? The whole movie just failed. It has a negative influence on most the population and many twifans obsess with it to the point of violence and unhealthiness. 1.5/5

Ok this is a good book. I read the whole thing because another parent showed my daughter the movie when she was a guest at a ninth birthday party. I was NOT happy about this. She has been arguing with me about it ever since. The book is a page turner for sure. But it also reminded WAY too much of being a teenage girl and the status associated with having a boyfriend, and how easy it is to get wrapped up in the relationship and push away friends and families concerns. Teenage girls are too vulnerable about this stuff. This book gives the wrong message.

Twilight is an essentially negative force on teenage girls today. Edward, the dream-vampire, is overly Byronic in temperament and psychopathic. He stalks Bella, and watches her while she sleeps. He has the gall to ask Bella's father for his permission way after having spent the night in Bella's room. Bella is a classic case of why Showing is better than Telling. We are repeatedly told that Bella is academically briliant, yet she acts like an idiot. She is vapid, colourless, and moronic. The support characters are empty vessels. The whole series seems like propaganda for Ms. Meyer's religion. These books have a bad message: that it's okay for women to be enslaved and treated like possessions. Not that Bella is in any way sympathetic... In the end: Just plain boring.