Okay, first things first. I have only read the first book, and will continue to read the other two. So, I may end up loving the story once all is said and done. Also, I don't hate it. I find it pretty entertaining. I just don't see what makes this book so amazing. Would I recommend it to a friend? Yeah, for the most part, it's pretty fun. Would I categorize it as a favorite read? Absolutely not.
Before I go into what worked for me and what did not, I will state three things in the book's defense:
1) As my best friend Stephanie pointed out, I did read the book at the very climax of Twilight hype. Both she and my sister agree that if I had read this book about a year and half ago, I probably wouldn't have been so harsh with it.
2) As also pointed out by Stephanie, and as I was warned by my friend Robbin, I am a critic. By trade, I am an editor. My eye is trained to look for any and all flaws in a manuscript and dissect it to pieces. In MY defense, I took a whole day off of work so that I could read the book without any "editor voice" in my head (as much as I could possibly distance myself from that voice. wow, i sound like a crazy person). I honestly did approach it with an open mind. I can read historical romances and all Jennifer Wiener novels without a critical voice, so I hoped I could do the same with Twilight.
3) I never was a romantic, until I met my husband and got married. I thoroughly disliked Romeo and Juliet. I was probably the only girl in freshman high school English to groan at the fact we were going to study it. Lady Macbeth is more my sort of woman. If history is any indication of future trends, Twilight would have been doomed from the start with me.
Now onto my thoughts. . .
The Good:
* Stephanie Meyer is incredibly good at writing in the first person without making other characters flat, and is talented in keeping the reader drawn into Bella's world. Writing fiction in the first person is phenomenally difficult, and to have done so for over 300 pages affords Ms. Meyer major brownie points.
* This book was never intended for "adults." It's a YA (Young Adult) and so for 13 - 17 year old girls, the "voice" of the novel is spot on. The fact it has crossed over and done well in both markets makes a good, strong statement on the novel's behalf.
* Jacob and his dad are awesome. And I really like Alice and Rosealie (is that her name?). I would shoot daggers at Bella too, if she were too stupid to realize she were messing up not only her own, but my life, too.
The Bad:
* We get it. He's a vampire. You're a human, Bella. Star-crossed lovers, doomed ill-fates, blah, blah, blah. How many times are you going to bemoan the fact? For 200 pages! Get over it!!
* The book didn't get "good" for me until the base-ball game that got interrupted by James' coven. That is what I'm talking about! More action please! More conflict! Are you telling me this book is partially about vampires, and for 2/3 of the book we only really get to see how "weird" they are because they look like beautiful corpses and they stare blankly at each other during lunch time and don't touch a bit of the "human food"? Please.
*Hey, I don't want to hear it. The fact that Bella hearts Edward and vice versa but whose love can't be realized is not conflict enough. It is base conflict, or premise. That is a given when you stick a vampire next to a human. James' coven stalking the land or the struggle of the Cullen coven coming to terms with its humanity/lack thereof needs to beefed up and better intertwined into the book. At any rate, it should come much earlier.
* Teen-age girls are dramatic by nature. However, Bella is just whiny and annoying. She is so frustrating. I don't see what Edward sees in her. And she is 17!!! How does she know what love is? It's her first real crush ever. How many of you ladies out there thought you wanted to be with your first high-school crush/bf forever but now are thanking all of your lucky stars that, except for a few rare cases, that's not how life turned out?
* I would die for my family. I would die for my husband. I would die for some friends I consider family. But I wouldn't actively seek it or plead and beg for it. (I am referring to Bella asking to be turned into a vampire over and over again)
* On that note, I would die for them because I love them. Love, however is NOT the following: self-serving, obsessive, nor self-destructive. Bella and Edward manage to take all three, shake it up, and make a Hell Martini, all the while proclaiming it as "love."
* Choice, agency, free-will is big with me. Actually, that is my favorite thing to read and write about, no matter the story. To me, that is the essence of human interaction and nature. Twilight went down hill for me in that specific scene when (and I can't remember exactly what page or chapter) but it's when Bella finally decides she wants to be with Edward. But the way she comes to that conclusion, like she has no choice in the matter, it was fated, etc. . .I am sorry, but yes you do have a choice, Bella. You just aren't strong enough to admit you can walk away, or don't even have the back-bone to say, "Hey, I do have the choice and my choice is to remain in this miserable limbo. But it is a choice I am actively making and not just deluding myself into thinking it is a pre-destined fate I can't escape."
* This is Romeo and Juliet of the 21st century in fantasy land. Oh yeah, without the benefit of Shakespeare's brilliant insights into human nature, per view of Mercutio or the Friar.
* Stephanie Meyer has the distinct talent to write succinct sentences in her paragraphs, and yet manages to make overbearing chapters.
The Whatever:
So all in all, I find the book entertaining, but don't see what the hype is all about. I am not really interested in reading the rest of the series, but will only do so since my sister promises me there will be more about Jacob and the werewolves - these are the real interesting figures, in my opinion.
The best thing about Twilight is that it has generated discussion and book sales. At a time when book sales are suffering not just due to a bad economy, but also because of other time-occupying entertainment competition, credit should be given where credit is due. And Twilight, if only in that regard, has earned my respect if not my devotion.