Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1) Reviews

This is a review of the series as far as I have read. It's hard to differentiate between each book after reading them all, but overall I give all of the books similar ratings.

On a positive note, I did find the books at least entertaining. As these books are intended for an audience of the "me generation" I feel that the author developed a character in Bella Swan who successfully resonates with the intended audience.

That said, the more I think about the books, the more I dislike them. For me, a heroine should be strong in some way and, even if she isn't a good person or a perfect person, she should have some redeeming qualities that make you like her or relate to her in some way. Unfortunately, I think too many girls reading these books DO relate to her and that just makes me sad. Bella is an utterly useless person, barely even able to walk down the street without falling on her face. While this may have been turned into a comic characteristic, it just makes her more pathetic. Her infatuation with Edward is disgusting and unhealthy. Her entire life is meaningless until she meets him, then when he goes away, she's even more pointless than before. She can't do anything and is constantly in need of being saved by someone.

While reading the book, I found myself rolling my eyes at her and wanting to just smack her. Tell her to get a back bone and do something with herself. The more I think about these books and the way they have been received by a generation of young girls, the sadder I get. I hope that many girls who enjoy these books see it for true fiction and do not idolize Bella or want to be in her shoes. As an educator and sibling of teenagers, I see enough girls acting silly or dumb and wanting nothing but to be the beauty who is taken care of and coddled to be sickened by this work.