August Books 52) Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
Well, this book is not quite as bad as Interview with the Vampire, but that's roughly the best that can be said for it. The most immediately striking thing about the book is that the writing is rather dull; Bella's fascination with her own inner dialogue was not shared by this reader. My own favourite vampire series is likely to remain Buffy/Angel, which scores over Twilight by a) being much funnier and b) having characters whose sexuality extends to parts of the body below shoulder level.
The most troubling aspect of the book is that Bella is very passive indeed, entirely surrendering to the guidance of Edward and his fellow vampires - and when she tries to do something on her own she screws up and they have to rescue her. It's not relevant for my own daughters, but if I did know any teenage girls who were reading this I would want to draw them into conversation about how Real Life may perhaps involve differentiating oneself from a doormat. (Starting with this excellent Buffy vs Edward mashup.)
And although I haven't seen either film (nor do I have experience of being a teenage girl), I suspect astraether may have a point when she suggests that teenage boys should watch Twilight in order to understand teenage girls' fantasies, just as teenage girls should watch Porky's to understand teenage boys' fantasies. ( Hat-tip to fleetfootmike.)
The most troubling aspect of the book is that Bella is very passive indeed, entirely surrendering to the guidance of Edward and his fellow vampires - and when she tries to do something on her own she screws up and they have to rescue her. It's not relevant for my own daughters, but if I did know any teenage girls who were reading this I would want to draw them into conversation about how Real Life may perhaps involve differentiating oneself from a doormat. (Starting with this excellent Buffy vs Edward mashup.)
And although I haven't seen either film (nor do I have experience of being a teenage girl), I suspect astraether may have a point when she suggests that teenage boys should watch Twilight in order to understand teenage girls' fantasies, just as teenage girls should watch Porky's to understand teenage boys' fantasies. ( Hat-tip to fleetfootmike.)