Author: Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown
Release: October 5, 2005
Source: Fiktshun
Purchase: (RJ Julia | Little, Brown)
Isabella Swan's move to Forks, a perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. When she meets the mysterious, alluring Edward Cullen--a vampire--her life takes a thrilling and terrifying romantic turn.
Twilight is
special to me. Yeah, I know, why? I
totally see where you’re coming from, but understand first that Twilight was (I think) the first young
adult book I read way back when, and it got me hooked on YA. You probably wouldn’t
be reading this right now if not for Twilight.
When I first read Twilight,
I absolutely adored it. Everything about it was great to me, and I eagerly tore
through the series, drenched in the love of it all. But then I read it a second
time, and none of that was there. Sure, there was some nostalgia because of
that fact that, hey! I’m reading Twilight,
but other than that, most of my love was gone. Perhaps it is because since
reading it the first time, there have been so
many books that I have read and loved, and I can now see the flaws in Twilight. However, I don’t think Twilight is a necessarily horrible book,
and I am glad I read it once more.
After reading Twilight
again, I’m really not sure what made it stand out from the rest so much. I
mean, I totally see why so many people gravitated toward it, but why not to all
of the other fantastic books out there? I’m not sure why exactly Twilight holds the it factor that so
many—including me—flock to. The mythology is intriguing, yet not very detailed
(at least not in this book), and not much happens besides awkward romantic tension
throughout most of the book.
Stephenie Meyer is not a bad writer by any means. Sure, she
has flaws, but I’ve read many books that are much worse than Twilight. I’ve only read the Twilight books by her, but at the time,
I very much enjoyed them, so they’ve got that going for them. I definitely want
to check out The Host, the only book
she’s written outside of the Twilight universe.
I’ve heard that The Host is
fantastic, and I’d love to see for myself.
Twilight is very
slow-paced, and is very much driven by the many characters, many of which are
great. However, I could not connect with either Bella or Edward this time
around. I just didn’t see how either of them was admirable or relatable. I didn’t
despise them, but they just didn’t hold that factor I need to really enjoy
reading about a character. I’m still looking forward to rediscovering their
adventures, and hopefully my love of them will grow as I read.
Even though I didn’t love Twilight the second time around, I absolutely loved it the first
time, and still can’t bring myself to say that I hate it or even that I don’t
like it. It’s a good book, and I can see why it attracts readers, yet I’m still
not sure what makes Twilight so
special.
Great review. I totally see what you mean.. Twilight was aswell one of the books who opened my eyes again to reading :D
ReplyDeleteI really wanna read it again. Think I might not like it as much. But Twilight still means something special to me, so I wanna re-read them. They also have a special shelf for themselves xD
You should really check out The Host. It´s really good :) Like really really good :)
The Twilight Saga was also what got me hooked on YA. I spent hours devouring the books. I distinctly remember it because I had tests coming up, but I was anything but studying, the books were that good. But after all the YA books I've read I agree that I probably won't like the series the second time around. I decided not to test that theory in order to keep the memory of reading the books the first time alive.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I so adored Twilight back when I read it for the first time. I loved reading when I was little but around 13-14 I stopped reading (I still don't know why but that's what happened), and I still remember when the Twilight movie was released in movie theaters. My friend begged me to go watch it with her and, although I didn't want because....vampires? really?, in the end I decided to go with her but not without reading the book first. That was it. I got hooked. Since then I've become a compulsive reader XD.
ReplyDeleteYou definitely have to check The Host out. Is amazing and now I can say that I love it more than the Twilight series.
I'm with you on this completely. I have read the Twilight saga 3 times and enjoyed them completely, but I recently listened to them on cd and that is where I noticed all the flaws and annoyances. I still enjoy the story, but I don't love it. I'm also really tired of the crazy and comparison to Twilight.
ReplyDeleteI never read the first book. But the rest of the series was awesome for me and still is! It's just one of those books that are awesome because they're simple and kind of like a fantasy. A normal girl falling in love with a vamp. The romance from New Moon and on (in the books) is the element that stays with me from these books. Sorry that you didn't like it this go-round!
ReplyDeleteI'd been reading YA years before Twilight but not many vampire books and I loved it, I know I could still read it now and really enjoy it, I also loved New Moon, liked Eclipse but absolutely HATED Breaking Dawn.
ReplyDeleteI really disliked Twilight when I read it and didn't even finish it, so my love for YA has nothing to do with it. Honestly, there is so much YA out there, Twilight simply is not the only gateway to it. I've been reading YA since I was 16, and Meyer was a teenager at the time, herself. Plenty of great YA has been around since long before Twilight was ever literally dreamed up.
ReplyDeleteI think, for me, the reason I was so unimpressed by Twilight was because I had read so much better by then, having already been a very avid reader of all types of literature, and every type of storytelling. I love anime, manga, movies, video games, so Twilight was just super boring for me. It seems to me that those who loved it only did because of youth and lack of exposure to better books or entertainment at the time. When you've read better books, Twilight looks like garbage by comparison.
For example, your first love is soooo hot, but when you later meet better-looking and nicer people to fall for, that first guy/girl doesn't look all that great anymore. They may only have a special place in your heart simply because they were the first to capture your heart, but you grew up and moved on. That's Twilight in a nutshell.
The whole series I was not impressed with at all. Twilight was pretty slow with nothing happening. Bella is your normal clutsy girl but there was nothing that made her stand out. If she wasn't the main character I would never have noticed her. Edward and the rest of the Cullens are interesting but sparkles? Really? That's just ridiculous. The rest of the series got a little better, especially getting to know the shifter pack more. It says werewolves in the books but they really aren't because they don't transform under a full moon. The most action happens in the third book and I truly felt like the series should have stopped there. Breaking Dawn was truly not a good read. Once again it's slow with only a few major scenes, well not really major, and then it's just over. What made me not like this series even more was how much it was compared to Harry Potter. Sorry but there is no comparison whatsoever and there never will be. Stephanie Meyer is a good writer but this series wasn't good for me. I read all the books once and I don't have the urge to read them ever again.
ReplyDeleteGreat review - actually Twilight did the same for me, I just didn't realise it until now :)
ReplyDelete