Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1) by Stephenie Meyer
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Book Reviews of Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)
Book Review: Creative and surprisingly enjoyable
Summary: 4 Stars
I had heard quite a bit of hype about this book but when I found out it had to do with vampires I just wasn't interested. My teenage daughter and several other teens were all telling me how good it was so I decided to give it a try.
Must say I actually enjoyed it. I thought it was well written though definitely geared for the younger set (but that was okay because the pages just flew by). I thought the book was quite imaginative and compelling. I wish it didn't have so much emphasis on the romantic (nearly pathetic) love . I think if she had left out much of the oozing gushy descriptions of how amazingly beautiful Edward was it would appeal to more readers.
I think boys might actually enjoy much of the story (i.e. baseball during the thunder storm scene -reminiscent of quiditch, or the whole other worldly abilities and senses) but would never get past the lovesick girl stuff.
Book Review: of course..Vampires
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a true love story that comes with all of the ups & downs. Of course, there are vampires involved which is a bit out of the norm, but all in all this was a wonderful book,Book Review: This books is scary for all the wrong reasons.
Summary: 1 Stars
It's scary that a book that enforces obsession, dependence, and suicidal tendencies masqueraded as love can become this popular. It's scary that so many readers find themselves "relating" to Bella Swan, a character who has shown little personality other than her crippling fixation on a guy she knows little about, other than the fact that he's devastating beautiful. She has no goals in life, no hopes or dreams or plans for her future that don't involve Edward. It's not necessarily unsettling how she is willing to give up everything for this boy based on a pretty face (it's a high school romance), but it is unsettling how this is all supposed to be perceived as genuinely romantic, and not some short-lived, intense infatuation.
I read this whole book. What took five hundred pages to say could have been done in half that amount. Nothing happened. We meet Bella, she meets Edward, and they go back and forth about how much they love one another without ever actually doing anything that warrants this behavior other Edward being beautiful and Bella smelling like dinner. We're treated to numerous, repetitive descriptions of Edward's god-like beauty, his "liquid topaz" eyes and "cold, scintillating" skin. Stephenie Meyers tells us that Bella and Edward are interesting, but she never shows us. Edward asks Bella and endless series of questions about her, but even in this specific, mechanical answers, we still learn nothing about her.
Our so-called "protagonist" has little that defines her except her obsession with Edward. And Edward has somehow lived over a hundred years without finding anyone who piqued his interest until Bella, who--from what I've read--has nothing worth mentioning. She goes to school, ignores her only friends, comes home, cooks dinner for her father (because in the 16 years of living by himself he's never learned how?), and obsesses about Edward. Nothing else happens. The only action and conflict we see is nearly 300+ pages later in the book where yet *another* vampire is obsessed with Bella's smell.
I can understand guilty pleasures. But that this book with its lackluster descriptions, two-dimensional characters and a weak, barely-there plot is so well-liked, with some claiming it's the best book they've read...that's what's scary.
Book Review: Hard to get through the first 60%
Summary: 3 Stars
This book while fairly good almost lost me due to the thick coating of teenage angst which was prevalent for most of the book. I can only take so much, "I'm not sure if he likes me, but he makes me all fuzzy inside." repeated in various themes and phrasings. Roughly the last third or slightly more of the book redeems it though with a more intricate relationship involving the lead characters developing and certainly much more action. I would recommend reading this book if only so you can get into the second book which was much better.Book Review: That was a waste of a night
Summary: 1 Stars
After hearing so much raving at my high school about how amazing this book is, I finally decided to pick it up as a guilty pleasure. I'd browsed through it in the book store, and I knew not to expect much, but I at least expected to enjoy it (guiltily) for the aspects that have made this book so popular among teens. I expected a sexy hero, compromising situations, and at least some action.
However, this book was awful. The characters were so paper thin two dimensional doesn't even begin to cover it. The language was awful and repetitive. Meyer repeats descriptions every third sentence or so, constantly ramming down the reader's throats how "beautiful" and "perfect" Edward Cullen is. She doesn't seem to realize that no matter how many times she uses either word, neither is an actual description. Never does Meyer seem to have come up with an original sentence, not a single original use of figurative language to describe anything, merely clich?s every other line or so about how "beautiful" Edward's eyes are.
Neither Edward nor Bella, nor anyone else, seems to have a shred of personality. Many of the characters of the novel seem superfluous altogether. As other reviewers pointed out, was there any point at all for any of Bella's many admirers other than to showcase how beautiful Bella is supposed to be? And is it just me or were there more members of the Cullen family than was altogether necessary?
After reading this novel, I've come to the conclusion that Meyer has never been in love. This is more like a deluded fourteen year old's idea of 'true love' than anything solid. Bella needs help. She falls in 'love' with Edward solely for his good looks within a couple of days and is incapable of thinking of anything else. Every thought, every word is fawning over Edward's looks. She never seems to have anything to say about him except for his smoldering eyes, his smoldering voice, his male model body. The girl is seriously sick. Even when her mother's life is in lethal danger and she's knowingly walking towards her death all she can think about is how much she regrets not being able to be with her new boyfriend. Sick, anyone?
For a work whose sole attraction is that it aims to be unabashedly smutty and fluffy and alluring to teenage girls, it's ultimate crime is that it's BORING. Bella's life is incredibly uninteresting, and Meyer gives a detailed description of everything the girl says or thinks or does for 500 pages (hint: it all has to do with Edward's perfect eyes/body/sparkly skin). There is not a trace of action until the last 100 pages or so, and that is thrown in and concluded so hastily that it hardly saves the work. We end up learning information about Edward's sister Alice in the last chapter or so, but we have such a poor picture of Alice that it doesn't make much of an impact on the reader at all.
The truth is, heros are often as attractive for their flaws as for their better qualities. Edward and the entire Cullen family are entirely perfect. They're so beautiful it's practically painful, but no excuse for this is given. Evil vampires are apparently nondescript. Edward is the most perfect of his entire perfect family. He never says anything that upsets, he's interested in every detail of Bella's pathetic life, even when he does do something disturbing it's 'cute' and he never has anything interesting or thoughtful to say. A hero that is perfectly perfect in every possible way under the sun, as Mrs. Meyer won't let you forget, is no fun at all.