Today I finished the second of the Twilight books of which there are currently four. I’ll read the last two, but mostly because my wife assures me that they get a lot better.
My problem? It’s not really a problem more than an issue. It’s written to attract a specific core readership that is annoyingly distracting. The core readership I’m talking about? Female avid readers who want a fairytale.
That’s a pretty broad approximation by me eh? Yes it is, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true. Now I’ll say why, so stop reading if you plan on reading the books and don’t even want the hint of spoilers. I haven’t seen the movie yet, so I’m just going off the books.
The book is written from the first person perspective mostly for tweens. The main character / point of view is (self described as) a pale, plain gal in her late teens moving from Phoenix to a remote corner of Washington State. That move alone magically makes her more interesting to the locals in her new hometown. All the boys seem to be interested in her from the get go, and she even convinces a “vegetarian vampire” to go against his primal instincts and become her main squeeze.
She’s aptly named Bella, so that means she has romance. She is worth the massive restraint that it takes a vampire to be in the presence of a human (it’s really a big deal). She has no problem with any academics. She has adventure. Her love for Edward the vampire even overrules any notion of self-preservation. Oh yeah, there’s a whole family of these non-human killing vampires with unique vampire powers that all love and approve of Bella.
Then the second book attempts to parallel Romeo and Juliet by implication and through overt references that frankly made me cringe. Bella can be too smart sometimes for anyone of that age and experience level, but she can also be so freakin’ dim. Then again, my experiences with vampires are limited to the three or four times I’ve been to Disney World.
But my personal dislike for the audience pandering aside, it’s a mildly interesting take on the whole vampire/werewolf thing. It’s all a little too sweet sometimes, and hindered by not being in the third person. I would just like for it to be a little less written for the tweens. Just a bit more mature would make a huge difference, so I hope the next two books are.