Twilight  (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)

Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1) Review


by Stephenie Meyer



Overall 4.56 of 5 view all 311 reviews
 




 Staff
wildcatkatie
Chicago, IL

I wasted two full vacation days reading Twilight.

2 star rating

chronic book buyer, an avid reader, into romance novels, in a relationship, twenty something
Pros

    Edward Cullen

Cons
    immature, poor characters, it's a series, boring plot

DEC
2
2008
A snippet!: I can tell you all about Twilight in just a few sentences. I'll even break it down by page numbers for you. Ready? Okay. Pages 1 thru 200: Bella, the leading lady in Twilight, moves from Arizona to rainy Washington. Bella goes to school. Bella meets Edward (the super sexy vampire) and thinks he is mean. Edward does a string of "supernatural" behaviors and Bella becomes suspicious. Bella discovers Edward is a vampire. Pages 200-350: Bella and Edward argue back and forth about how madly in love they are and the dangers of their love. Pages 350-498: Surprise, surprise. Bella's life is threatened and Edward must save her.

The finer print: Twilight is not the next Harry Potter. Whoever decided it would be a phenomenon like J.K. Rowling's series probably never read her seven novels. The plot in Twilight is predictable. The dialogue is suited for a first grade reading level. Honestly, I know I could have used Twilight to learn to read during the years my mother forced me to use the "Hooked on Phonics" series. Good grief.

Stephenie Meyer spends almost 200 pages blabbering about absolutely nothing. Literally. I blocked those first 200 pages out of my memory because they were so dull. It consisted of boring dialogue and immature flirting. She could have spent time developing believeable characters and a true relationship between Bella and Edward, but instead she throws them together and expects readers to believe in love at first sight. Please! You're writing a novel in the 21st century. Women are brought up to be strong and independent now. No one is going to sit there and think, "Wow, Bella and Edward belong together after knowing each other all of 5 minutes. This is great!"

Oh, and did I mention that Edward is a total creep? He breaks in to Bella's room at night and watches her sleep. Tell me this: if Edward wants to eat her in broad daylight, then why does he simply watch her sleep instead of suck her blood dry? Get your facts straight, Stephenie. You're boring me here. Also, don't make your novel's main man a perv. No one wants to date a stalker!

The verdict: You're probably wondering why I finished Twilight if I hated it so much. Well, I always finish a book I start, and Twilight's plot picked up around page 350. By then, I'd invested about one day in reading Twilight and decided to finish it. Plus, I'd promised my sisters I'd see the movie over Thanksgiving.

I give Twilight two stars because of the poor writing style, underdeveloped characters and disjointed/nonsequential plot. It's hard for me to grasp that even young adults (the target audience) will subject themselves to the torture of reading this novel.

I give Twilight a second star because of Edward Cullen. He's the only positive aspect of Twilight. He's attractive, strong and romantic. Yummy! Of course, even a cynical reader like me will fall head over heels for him. I am a woman, after all. But Edward is also a creep. If he didn't spy on girls in the middle of the night, then I would re-evaluate my ranking!

Side note: If Stephenie Meyer had initially written this book for a mature or adult audience, I can guarantee I'd love the novel. She would be able to include dramatic things (like emotional development, relationship development, sex and violent murder) that would make the novel more believeable and interesting. I mean, I'm pretty sure getting almost slain by a vampire would be more gory than it was in Twilight, and I think dating a vampire would be a bit more scary, too!

Second side note: It's a series, so now I have to read the other Twilight sequels to find out what happens. Ugh. I guess I could wait for the movies...



I_thumb_down Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1) is not recommended by wildcatkatie

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I_comment_shdw24 Comments about wildcatkatie’s Review

 


TaraLee wrote on Oct 5, 2009 at 9:00AM

I totally agree with you about Bella and Edward, how did that happen, and how does he not kill her while he is stalking her in her sleep!

CrystaBush wrote on Jul 24, 2009 at 5:38PM

Seriously?? I loved it!!

TheBard wrote on Dec 4, 2008 at 7:00PM

Your review of this book mirrors others who found the book less than compelling reading. Thanks for telling it like it is.

Vincent

wildcatkatie wrote on Dec 3, 2008 at 9:02AM

In response to krislynn's comment from Dec 2, 2008 at 7:21PM:

I saw the Twilight movie on Thanksgiving. I'll be writing a review of it shortly. My internship at VP runs through January 20 but might be extended. If I'm lucky, it'll turn in to a "real" job! I'll be around for a bit longer at the very least. :)

krislynn wrote on Dec 2, 2008 at 7:21PM

I'm not keen on reading books about vampires. UGH! Yeah, I heard the buzz about this being the next Harry Potter phenomenon. I guess not. Have you seen the Twilight movie that is out right now? Maybe the movies will be better than the book. ;-) ~Krista Lynn