The Vampire Who Staked Me

When Bella moves in with her father in the dismal, rainy town of Forks, her isolation in the boons leads to a love to die for. A story with a bite Twilight, sinks its teeth into teenage love, trysts with the dark, and hunky vampires with perfect bodies and fast cars. Love, seduction, and the allure of nighttime coalesce to ensorcel readers into a world of romance packing a formulaic plot with a surprising emotional depth, hitting a young female audience with a saga to be staked for.

But a little background first. I am one of those set-in-my-ways bookworms who, despite much prodding from friends, hate romance stories and YA books with a fiery purple passion (okay, so purple doesn’t fit . . . it’s alliteration!). Needless to say, I was more than surprised when I ended up sitting up till dawn glued to Twilight. I read it merely because pretty much everyone else I know has read it and I was beginning to feel left out . . . that and I was bored.

Twilight captured my attention early on with an exquisite writing style filled with gorgeous, vivid descriptions of both people and place. Always a fan for flowerily writing and copious adjective use, I was intrigued. Stephenie Meyer has great control over her writing. The sentences flowed, painting a vivid mental image for the reader, instantly drawing him or her into the setting of the tale.

With such a well crafted atmosphere, it was little surprise that within the first several chapters intense character development was already under way. Bella is a protagonist that young adult female audiences will instantly empathize with. From her first nerve racking day in a new high school, to her first crush, and onward into her budding romance, Bella hits all our nerves with her realistic humanity. The beauty and intrigue of Twilight lies in this exceptional humanity that populates the main characters (namely Bella and Edward). When the romance between normal, lovable Bella and her enigmatic vampiric paramour heats up, the audience is already on for the ride believing so entirely in the characters, becoming so tied up in Bella’s neediness for emotional, specifically romantic fulfillment that the not-so-original plotline hardly matters.

Edward, the dashing vampire, likewise titillates the audience (especially the females) with his chivalric manners, charismatic seductiveness, and flawless physique. Definitely a male figure that most girls want to get nailed in a coffin with, he makes the perfect conflicted protagonist (mirroring Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer in many ways).  Torn between his blood lust, and his more normal lust for Bella, Edward experiences real love for the first time in centuries with our charming heroine and, by now, the audience is smitten and dying to know more about this tragically fantastical match between handsome monster and besotted maiden (how’s that for old world adjectives).

Spending way over 300 pages developing the innocent, yet distinctly alluring romance, exploring the characters’ psyches while establishing a palpable chemistry, and fluttering many a girl’s heart with Edward’s complete scrumptiousness, the novel eventually meanders into some death-defying scenes of danger and mayhem giving the female audience even more reasons for an accelerated heart rate. The plot remains typical of this genre and, while the conclusion is somewhat predictable, the reader still experiences a state of intense anxiety for our characters’ safety and well being. Even though the reader secretly knows that, as with all YA fiction, the beloved characters will nearly, just very nearly, almost get horrifically slaughtered but then will be miraculously, predictably, certainly, delightfully, heartwarmingly spared for the purpose of a warm fuzzies epilogue with a little cliff hanger incentive meant to seduce audiences into going further into the series. Yes, we know this . . . and we don’t care! Twilight satisfies every female 20-something’s desire for a romantic, yet noble, love story, with a leading male who is suitably conflicted, yet his loyalties, and his life, remain unshakably directed toward the woman he loves. Bella is our vicarious princess and the conclusion gives readers just what they want . . . while still leaving just enough unknowns to make the next book, New Moon a must purchase. The appeal of Twilight lives in its perfect wish fulfillment and a heartwarming, albeit sparse, cast of characters that the audience instantly believes in and empathizes with.

But . . . the cons. For me, there weren’t any but, to be truthfully, painfully, and embarrassingly honest, I am in the age range that Meyer is pandering too. Yes! I know, please forgive poor, sycophantic, easily satisfied me. Older, mature audiences probably won’t be as instantly satisfied or gratified. For one, the romance is distinctly puppy love and while there is sex appeal, there is no actual sex (damn!!! . . . maybe in later books). Mature audiences will see the unrealistic nature of such a romance and will probably be seeking a more substantial, fully explored plot and less of a formulaic focus on teenage emotions and love desires. Let’s face it, teenage crushes are only relevant to teenagers and those few pathetic college kids like yours truly.  

And, a little note for parents: Twilight really doesn’t have any sex (just a bit of puppy love and some kissing). The romantic intensity is more in the emotions and the desires bubbling under the surface. There is no bad language and very little gore. Still, I forgave it . .  . seriously, there really isn’t anything in here that would mislead teenagers. It’s certainly not as rough as Buffy the Vampire Slayer or some of the downright shocking, disgusting stuff I’ve seen on Cartoon Network. If you want to worry about what your kids are doing, then look at the anime and the cartoons they are into . . . that’s where the bad stuff is.

So, to sum up this disgustingly gushing, overtly starry eyed review with a shred of dignity, Twilight appeals to the audience with an emotional adrenaline rush and gives the young reader just what they want when they want it. I’m satisfied. It’s no timeless work of art that will rival the greats . .  .but it has that indefinable something that captured my heart and my hormones. I’m totally in love with Meyer’s world (even though I tried so hard not to be) and will of course, have to buy the rest of the series and the movie. My small amount of college funds will be devastated, but I’ll be gratified. Unequivocally recommended to those of you that like to develop crushes on fictional vampires . . .

A very embarrassed Countess_Eva