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Twilight (book)

The first book in the "Twilight Saga" by Stephenie Meyer.

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not worth its hype

Jun 28, 2010

by bummer
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

Rating:

-2

Okay, I'll admit it. I first read this book because of the hype. Also, because the trailer of the movie looked interesting. Lastly, I've been going through Harry Potter withdrawal and I'm trying to find a fantasy series to put all of my pent-up energy in. So, now, what I have to say is this: WHAT THE HELL?!!

This book's premise sounded interesting. Bella moves in with her dad to a remote town in Arizona and falls in love with a vampire. But I foolishly thought that the book had more plot than that. It didn't. No, seriously, where was the plot in this story? Okay, Bella falls in love with a vampire, then what? I don't know. Do you know why? It never got past that. I've read both Twilight and New Moon and all I learned is that Bella is in love with Edward (the vampire). Bella is being mopey, obsessively in love with Edward for the first like 400 pages, the last like 50 or so, Bella is being chased by a vampire. But I am of the firm opinion that the whole being chased by a vampire thing was there just so Meyer could say that she had a plot. But she didn't. Or at least not much.

Now, what was up with the relationship between Edward and Bella? Was it supposed to immensely creepy? Because that's what I got. I'm supposed to believe that people fall that quickly in love within a week, without knowing each other, just because they can't figure each other out? Ooookay. I'm not that thick. And I guess I'm supposed to believe that Bella loves Edward for more reasons than because he's hot? I'm not supposed to believe she's shallow? Oookay. Another thing, does tru wuv actually excuse stalking? Because Bella seemed so ecstatic and flattered that Edward was following her, yet she did not scream "FELONY!" like any other sane person would have done.

If I read a story with a teenage heroine, I want her to be strong, independent, but most importantly, interesting. Bella was none of these things. She was mopey, pathetic, shallow, and selfish. Edward was all of these things, but prettier. Do yourself a favor and skip this book. I'll summarize the story for you:

Girl finds boy. Girl likes boy. Boy ignores Girl. Girl likes Boy even more. Girl and Boy end up going out. Girl loves Boy. Girl loves Boy. Girl loves Boy. Girl loves Boy. Girl loves Boy. Girl loves Boy. Girl gets chased by vampires. Boy saves her. Girl loves Boy. There you go. I just saved you from reading 400+ pages.

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More Twilight (book) reviews

review by kgreer20. June 30, 2010

posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

A Feminism Nightmare.

I first read Twilight the summer after my senior year of high school. I was still 17, stuck up in bed for months recovering from a minor surgery, and reading at my most voracious pace yet (where was Netflix Instant in 2007, huh!?) in order to get away from endless Full House reruns. I had long since abdicated library authority to my mother and she had perfected the ability to pick a perfect mix of young adult and adult fiction and nonfiction for me. After one of these library trips, Twilight found … more

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review by cpw1952. January 07, 2010

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OK Bella, so you're hot and bothered ... GET ON WITH THE STORY ALREADY!

Hundreds and thousands of fans couldn't possibly be wrong, could they? I figured with so much hype surrounding Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series, there had to be something to it. So I took the plunge and dug in. Now, please ... before hordes of young female fans climb all over me and shower my review with negative comments, I hope that they'll understand this review is being written by a fifty-something male for a similar audience. In summary, it just wasn't … more

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review by FunkyScribbles. July 10, 2010

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The Cliché as Standard

There has been a lot of smack written about Twilight, mostly because the book’s primary audience is not articulate enough to adequately voice their opinions of the book beyond: “Edward is so dreamy,” “I want someone to love me that much,” “Vampires are sexy.” What Meyer has done is taken every romantic cliché from a book or movie and compiled it into one book that doesn’t move beyond its primary archetypes. Without plot dynamics … more

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review by betsyboo84. June 23, 2010

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Just like junk food

My older sister is a librarian, and for Christmas and my birthday she often gives me a stack of "good books" - the ones she's heard good things about, or would recommend. A couple years ago, Twilight was part of the stack. She was insistent that I should give it a try, even if I am not a fan of vampire stories. I am a middle- and high school teacher, so I figured I really ought to know what my students are squealing about. I read it over three days, and determined that it is definitely … more

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review by gingertea. June 25, 2010

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One Rotten Apple

Listen, I'm not a Twilight-hater, nor am I a hard core fan. I read the books a few years ago and was swept up by the love story between Bella and Edward. I certainly give this book props for how captivating it can be. However, in order to analyze this book critically, and fairly, I'm going to look at how healthy the Edward/Bella relationship really is for teens to be digesting as they read Twilight. This is more of a response to the ideas portrayed in Twilight vs. an outright review of the … more

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review by rknash. July 20, 2010

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I recognize that the writing is not good, but I can't stop reading!

I read the book because I am a middle school teacher and thought I should be familiar with the novel because of its popularity with my students. The book is honestly poorly written and incredibly predictable, but despite this obvious reason to dislike the novel, I could not put it down and soon found myself reading the other books in the series. The Twilight series has become my guilty pleasure. Here are my thoughts as a teacher on the appropriateness of the text for your adults: … more

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review by silvertofu. January 05, 2010

Twilight- Not Worth The Time

I read a book several years ago, that I've read many times since then, also in the young adult category, called Demon In My View by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, that was published when she was 16. The book is less than half the size of Twilight, with far more plot and character development then Twilight could ever achieve. It has it's faults, but was a quick, and amusing read. Then, I read Twilight, written by a woman, with supposed writing ability, with the same plot, similar characters, and far too … more

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review by holy_child. July 27, 2010

posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

Chosen by accident

This book was 'ok', I didn't go out of my way to read it, nor did I see the reason behind all the hype. It was well written if not well thought out. Too many characters to be introduced to, and confusing conflicts of interest to the younger audience set. I think this was meant to be a romance for the ages, that falls AGES short. To me, this is written to attract the exact demographic the writer intended- tweens. While not … more

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review by Cry_of_the_Wolf. May 18, 2009

Possibly the Worst Book I've Ever had the the Mispleasure of Seeing

I will never understand the huge following the the book Twilight has earned. In my opinion, this 'book' is more along the lines of a teenage girls fanfiction about some other vampire romance novel they picked up at an airport book store. Here are the reasons I shall never pick up these books again: 1. The characters are painfully underdeveloped. 2. While there may be one or two well written passages, they are ruined by the horrible ones that follow. &nb … more

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Quick Tip by eLemming. February 22, 2011

A Quick Tip by eLemming

Clumsy generic insipid character has a sparkly vampire boyfriend who should have been spiked through the chest in the first book.

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see all Twilight (book) reviews (205)

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Alex (bummer)
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About this book

Wiki

Twilight is the debut, young-adult vampire-romance novel by author Stephenie Meyer. Twilight was initially rejected by 14 agents, but became an instant bestseller when published originally in hardback in 2005, debuting at #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list within a month of its release and later peaking at #1. That same year, Twilight was named one of Publishers Weekly's Best Children's Books of 2005. The novel was also the biggest selling book of 2008 and, to date, has sold 17 million copies worldwide, spent over 91 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list, and been translated into 37 different languages.

It is the first book of the Twilight series, and introduces seventeen-year-old Isabella "Bella" Swan, who moves from Phoenix, Arizona to Forks, Washington and finds her life in danger when she falls in love with a vampire, Edward Cullen. The novel is followed by New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. A film adaptation of Twilight was released in 2008. It was a commercial success, grossing more than $382 million worldwide and an additional $157 million from North American DVD sales, as of July 2009.

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