Last spring I saw all this stuff (okay, Flair if you must know) about being in love with a vampire, how awesome Edward is, blah-dee-blah. Whaa...t? So, I found my good friend Google, figured out some book named "Twilight" was all the rage with the young women, left it at that. Little did I know that within a few short months my daughter would be clamoring to read it, the movie would come out, and all my friends would know about Edward and Bella, as well.
I am usually one to run the other way when I see a bandwagon, and ANYTHING that someone tells me I HAVE!! TO!! READ!!! BECAUSE IT IS SO!!!!! AWESOME!!!!!!! I generally stay away from, or at least approach with great trepidation (think "The Shack").
So, I could have lived the rest of my life without reading Twilight, but felt that as much as my daughter has enjoyed it (all 4 books -- is it 4? -- and went to the movie with the middle school 'book club' that discussed it) I felt I should be a bit in the know.
If you have lived under a rock for the past 4 months, let me tell you the basic premise: Bella (human) falls in love with Edward (vampire). The end. Well, obviously, there are problems because Bella needs to eat and sleep, unlike Edward, and Edward needs to eat -- Bella's blood. But he refrains, evidently making him the s*xiest main character ever, according to most females I've heard from.
As far as the moral implications -- I actually kind of like it. There is a GREAT discussion in there about refraining from what your natural urges are if they urge you to do something that is wrong. The s*x aspect is non-existent -- a few stolen kisses here and there, as it should be for a 17 year old (Edward is, of course, about 112 or something, but appears to be 17).
I didn't think the vampire aspect was scary. Creepy, yes, but not scary. I think any middle school kid would be fine with it. I let Ashley read it before I had read it because someone I trust allowed her 9 year old daughter to read it. Now that I've read it, I'm not sure I would allow a 9 year old to read it.
I've read it. Check. I may or may not hunt down the 2nd one to read, too, simply because I'm curious about what happens, but you won't catch me buying a Twilight t-shirt/ notebook/ pencil case/ tattoo any time soon. It isn't a book that I would want to demand back the time I spent reading it, but I'm not as big of a fan as others appear to be. Not a bad way to spend a few hours reading.
P.S. I don't think any males would care for it at all. A little too much teenage angst and drama, and Bella is just ... whiny? demanding? unrelenting? teenager-y? I don't know, but I can't think of any males who would enjoy her behavior.
5 comments:
I read all 4 books because my daughter wanted to read them. I'm with you, there are good messages in there...not for a 9 year old...and no boys I can think of would care for them. I did talk to my daughter about a few things, though. In the later books, pre-marital sex does come up and Edward is against it..good, yes, but his reasons are not the same convictions as our family. His reasons had to do with him being a vampire and losing control of his strength. Our convictions have to do with a God who made and loves us and has given us his direction for our lives. Anyway, thought I'd add those two cents in case you wanted to address it with your daughter too or go ahead and read the rest of the series to see what you think. thanks for leaving me a comment...I can always use another "running" buddy! Did Ruthie ever answer your hiit question? I can if she hasn't.
I haven't read them but MissN went thru a Twilight-addicted phase. She bought the 1st one over 2 years ago and was into them before everyone else. She has read each of them maybe 10 times for the 1st 2 and fewer times for the next 2, but at least a couple of times each. She was reading Twilight fan-fiction online and that wasn't PG! Luckily she now abhors anything Twilight and doesn't want to see the film.
Sarah, I read all four books, too. Laurel wanted to read them, so we read them together... I stayed one book ahead of her, which wasn't easy b/c she was knocking them out like crazy and I had Christmas shopping to do! I enjoyed them, but I was VERY glad that I had read them before her. They do get a little steamy at the end... This was the first time she'd read a book with s*x in it, so we had lots of good discussion! :) I was glad she had not discovered these at a younger age... :)
beware of the 3rd some sexual content, and the 4th is a little creepy if you just arent into all the vampire hoopla!:P
I must say I read the books because my little sister was in love with them and had finished all 4 before the movie came out! I get laughed at work when I try to explain what its about..."A vampire, that wants to eat her blood but cant cause he loves her..." yeah but it is such a good love story and sometimes you just need those books that take you away from life! enjoy:) And let me know if you ever need a run down of the books for future reference!
Oh and I second everything the top 2 people said especially Josha. It might be a good way to have that "sex talk" I guess with your teen hadnt thought of that before!
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