Stephenie Meyer - The Twilight Saga Collection

     When I was seventeen, I heard about the Twilight series from my cousin. I immediately thought, "Ew, a book about vampires! No thanks!" But on her recommendation, I started to read the first book, Twilight. I was intrigued from the first chapter. Bella was just like me! She wasn't like other heroines--devastatingly beautiful, talented, or well-spoken. She was like the average teenager, not sure of their place in the world or what their future would bring. She was awkward, clumsy, almost insignificant. And Edward was a dream! What else could any girl wish for? He was sensitive, gorgeous, perfect, gorgeous, considerate, perfect, gorgeous.....Noticing any repeats? I did too. While I really did enjoy the first book of the series, each of the following books tried my patience more and more. The potential of Twilight was not realized in the other three books. Instead, they became traitors to the original charm of the story.

Characters:
Bella is presented to the reader as the epitome of the young teenage years. The teenage girl who starts reading this series is intrigued by Meyer’s Bella. She personifies what many girls feel themselves. While the main characters in television shows and movies are portrayed as being popular, beautiful, attractive, bubbly, funny, etc, Meyer’s character takes a different side of the teenage mind, the side that is most hidden in the embarrassment of junior high and high school. Bella is depicted as clumsy, unsocial, protective of her family, and sees herself as not very pretty or athletic or talented. Many teenagers can connect to at least one of these characteristics. When the pressure of high school hits, hearing of a girl in a book who also feels this way about herself is reassuring. This in and of itself is not a bad thing. Teenagers are so influenced by the media and their friends they often don’t realize that being different is something that should be celebrated and not discouraged. The problem with this series is that Meyer takes this special connection to the reader and misuses it by not staying true to that flawed, quirky character.  Meyer created a heroine, but forgot to give it a personality. "But she does!" You'll say. "She is clumsy, unsocial, and protective of the people she loves!" Meyer's characters are just that: a list of adjectives. The characters are given boundaries within those adjectives and like a well-trained dog, do not wander out much beyond their doghouse. Alice is always beautiful, interested in clothes and hair, intent on making Bella into a doll, always sweet, always a friend, never a boring bone in her body. Emmett, likewise, is always playful, always happy; Jasper always calming everyone down. Not doing much else. Rosalie is always cold. Esme is always welcoming and motherly. Never overbearing, mind you! What a mother-in-law! Carlisle always compassionate. Charlie: quiet, passive. Bella’s mother: fussy, impulsive. And Edward--always perfect. When was there a time when Edward was not gorgeous, not understanding, and not always looking out for Bella's own good? I can’t recall one. When did he ever tell a joke that caused Bella to fall to her knees in hysterical laughter? Hmmm…don’t recall one of those either.  The only character who was worth any notice was Jacob. I sometimes wonder if he was Meyer’s accident in the series. In New Moon, the second book the series, the reader makes a connection to Jacob just as Bella does. But too strong of a connection for some readers. It's as if Meyer then decides to make Jacob less likeable to make way for Edward. When Edward arrives, Jacob becomes bitter and forceful. “Oh yes, force a kiss from Bella! Then my readers won’t like him,” Meyer thinks. What she overlooked is Jacob's character has color! Edward is dull. He won’t tease like Jacob. He won’t act like an immature boy like Jacob. I thought that’s why we like boys!! Geez! Meyer's characters are like little Pinocchio's, held up by their strings, directed by her whims, and only Jacob has a change of turning into a "real boy". 


Plot:
The plots of these books contain all the same elements, digested and barfed up into another book with different, but similar circumstances. In all of them, there will be Edward being understanding and saving Bella from some sort of trouble she is getting herself and everyone she loves into. Throughout all this, Bella will be portrayed as a martyr. She always is thinking of others.  I find it so ironic she is always out to protect the family she never spends time with. She'll send off an occasional email or phone call to her mom to get her off her back and make dinner for Charlie. The end. Something I find interesting about the plot of the third is when I ask my friends what even happened in that book, we all have momentary amnesia....."What did happen in that book?" we ask ourselves. Buuuuuuuut, in all fairness Meyer does have some good twists in the plot here and there. She's good at getting the reader's interest peaked, and leaving them to read on the edge of their seats. That's why her books are popular! And honestly her plots have more variety than the characters. So not terrible. But some elements repeaaaaaat. The plot is not my main bone to pick with the series, but more of how the characters fit into it. Without realistic, complex characters, how much good is an interesting plot?

Values:
The values in this book are preached but not practiced. Bella was celebrated by teenage girls everywhere for her unique character.  Her flaws made her likable. She wasn't perfect--we liked her for being an unlikely heroine of an adventurous plot. But just look from the start to the end of her progression through the books.  In the end she is like any other heroine in typical books. She is beautiful, graceful, talented, and has a gorgeous lover-boy. Our similarity to her quirky character vanishes. What happened to loving yourself for who you are? Or making meaninful relationships with more than just a boyfriend? Or working hard for a goal? She shares none of these characteristics. Her life is good with Edward in it. Without it, it is horrible. Women who have dependency on men to this extreme are in for a hard time.  Her relationship to her parents is also something to wonder about in the books.  What happened to listening to parental advice?  No meaningful talks are encouraged between Bella or either of her parents. Bella doesn't want her mother to worry and Bella's father is not much of a talker. She doesn't have friends to talk to. Only Edward gets to hear her voice her sarcastic thoughts. That is not healthy!
Charlie's opinion of Edward in the last books was not an opinion I would want my parents to have about someone I would be dating. But Charlie's opinion towards Edward is brushed off by Bella who "knows better". She is like so many teenagers: blind, headstrong, and bent on what she wants. In spite of all this, she is rewarded and receives exactly what she wants, no strings attached, and no real consequences. Every book ends with everyone happy for the most part.  One thing that bothers me a lot is the whole hype about how this series promotes abstinence. How can that be true when Bella is egging Edward on throughout the whole series? I hope teenage girls do not follow her example. Men are not the ones who are going to have their heads on straight in that situation. Also, Edward has a daily habit of sneaking in Bella's room at night to lay in the same bed with Bella as she sleeps. This is against her father's knowledge and wishes. This does not teach abstinence. How many couples would have stayed abstinent with all of these factors in consideration? Bella is a screaming example of what NOT to do to stay abstinent.
Meyer’s Twilight is famous because it tells its young, naïve readers what they want to hear and is not an accurate or realistic description of how the world is. It is surprising how many mothers and daughters read this series together when the morals taught in this series are far from what they want their daughters to be learning of their self-worth. Twilight projects an image a lot like a vampire from its own book: beautiful, flawless, harmless, and captivating, but what it really is accomplishing is very much the opposite; Twilight sucks not blood, but old-fashioned morals and self-worth from her readers.
Writing Style:
Her writing style is good to get the reader captivated but after four books of the same adjectives, even spacey readers like me catch on! Here's some that I noticed:
1. "hole in her chest"--the metaphor used to describe her loneliness and separation anxiety as a result of Edward's absence (New Moon)
2. "topaz"--an adjective to describe Edward's eyes
3. "hard, marble-like"--to describe Edward's skin
4. "bronze"--to describe the color of Edward's hair
5. "velvet"--to describe Edward's voice
I did like the descriptions from the first book, Twilight. Every girl can connect to the way she describes seeing a cute boy at school and not knowing how to talk to him. Meyer did a good job pulling us into her story, even if we did start to notice in a repeat of adjectives towards the end of the series. Meyer's style connects to the reader and sucks the reader into her story. And because of that, she has had widespread success with her books. I loved every chapter of Twilight the first time I read it. I awaited eagerly for the arrival of the next books in the series. It was like another Harry Potter craze for me. But unlike Harry Potter, the characters went stale and so did the series. 
In conclusion, I would say that the first book was not bad, I would actually read it again! But the rest of the books start to go downhill. First with New Moon, then with Eclipse, and finally Breaking Dawn, lower than all of the previous three put together! It was halfway through the last book that I turned from a pro-twilight girl to an anti-twilight girl.  These books are like infected food--tasty and delicious at first but just wait till the food poisoning settles in and you ralph it back up. Word to the wise--make sure you devour better prepared literature by an author who knows what she's doin