TWILIGHT

Several posts ago, I mentioned having a nightmare and thought it might have been triggered by the book I was reading. I didn't mention the book because I wasn't finished reading it and wanted the opportunity to explain why I read it...

So, I was reading Twilight. The popular YA Lit (that's "young adult literature") book that focuses on the romantic relationship between a young girl, Bella, and a vampire, Edward. In November Twilight the movie was released and it made the headlines. Not only did I hear about the book/movie from all the teenage girls at church (and they talked about it ALL THE TIME on their Facebook pages), but both TIME and The Atlantic magazines had articles about the book/movie. One sentence from The Atlantic magazine article caught my attention. The author summarized the book by saying:

Twilight centers on a boy who loves a girl so much that he refuses to defile her, and on a girl who loves him so dearly that she is desperate for him to do just that.

This is a fascinating summary. I was captivated after reading this.

So I read the book. It definitely was not the best written book I've ever read. It sort of reminded me of The Da Vinci Code: it was SO easy to read and I shouldn't have liked it as much as I did. I was captivated by the book. I couldn't put it down. The first 400 pages of the book basically chronicled the developing relationship between Edward and Bella. Bella quickly learns that Edward is vampire and yet she chooses to continue her relationship with him. They quickly fall in love.

The climax of the book involves another group of vampires, who desire to defile Bella. The plot twists and turns as Bella tries to escape the "bad" vampires. The result of the good vs. bad vampires is quite predictable. And one would expect the book to end there; however it goes on for another 20-or-so pages. Edward surprises Bella and takes her to her prom; all the while Bella thinks Edward is taking her out to turn her into a vampire. Some think the ending is shocking and surprising. I thought it was anti-climatic.

It definitely isn't a book I would highly recommend. That said, I will be checking the next three books (in the Twilight series) out of the library as soon as they are available.