So I finished reading Twilight. Weeks have passed and I still do not know how I feel about the book. In a quick summation, it was sort of like Sweet Valley High meets Dracula.
To give a more detailed critique, I have decided to judge the book with the same criteria used by an art professor that I had as an undergraduate student. He graded art assignments using three standards: concept, craft, and execution. If I were to apply these standards to Twilight I would give the book an "A" for concept. The story certainly puts a new spin on the typical teen romance. I can understand why so many teen girls are taken with Bella and Edward's intense relationship, since girls of this age are usually enamored with the ideas of forbidden love and deep devotion. For craft, I would give the book a "B." Twilight is an easy read, which is not necessarily a bad thing, however the book did not leave me overwhelmed with the author's skill as a writer. As I mentioned in my earlier post, the book spends a lot of time describing Edward's appearance, which I found frustrating. I realize that his "vampireness" was supposed to make him attractive to his prey, but the descriptions became nauseating after awhile. I guess that is one reason why I give the book a "C" for execution. Supposedly, Bella and Edward are experiencing this great love, when I never understood how that was established. Instead, Bella seemed to be under a bizarre spell and Edward's affection seemed to come from his first instinct: which was to kill Bella and suck her blood. I read that the author claims her book is about love and not lust, however Twilight gave me the exact opposite impression—Bella and Edward were all about lust. I agree with the crowd and admit that Twilight is a good teen romance novel, but I never really felt the love.
2 comments:
I read all four books last year because I wanted to see why my middle school cheerleaders were arguing about who was better - Jake or Edward. I finally understood. I agree the books are easy readers that young adult girls love because of the romance and the descriptions of the cute guys. My oldest son also read them after me because he too wanted to see why all the girls in his 7th grade class were so in love with the characters. I can say for both of us that it's definitely a girl thing. My son's response to the books was, "They're okay." I enjoyed reading them, but I'm not over the top with them. I am glad that the author decided to make the characters get married before anything serious happened intimately. I'd give the books a "B."
Love both of your posts on Twilight and especially your review. I continue to be amazed at the number of teens as well as grown women who have rediscovered the joy of reading novels because of this series.
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