Friday, March 6, 2009

I Finally Did It

I finally caved in and read the book Twilight. Sarah has been nagging me for months and everywhere I go on the internet people have been buzzing about this book. Was it worth the day I spent reading it? Yes, I read a 498 page book in one day. Was it because it was that good that I couldn't put it down or did I just want to get through with it and be done with it. I wish I could say it was the former but sadly it was more of the latter.

I know that most people loved this book but I can't say that I liked it all that much. It wasn't terrible but it wasn't great either.

First, I thought there were a lot of holes in the story itself. Why were they in school? Obviously, they hated being in school so why were they? They could have been 18 as easy as 17 and thus not have any reason to be in school. I know they had to be in school to forward the story but they didn't want to be there so it didn't make sense that they were in school to begin with. I realize it is a fantasy book but that doesn't mean the story can't be believeable.

Because they don't age you would think that they would have to move every few years. They had a made a deal many years ago with the Indians to stay away from the reservation. That would imply that they had been living in this town for numerous years. Wouldn't people be getting susupicous that these kids weren't getting any older by now? OK, I get it that it is a fantasy book so maybe I should overlook the "holes" in the story itself.

Second, I didn't like the two main charachters.

Edward is described numerous times, and I mean numerous, as being exceedingly attractive. Being pale as a ghost with circles under one's eyes doesn't seem attractive to me. He was also just plain cruel and mean. Why isn't she concerned when she finds out that he is sneaking in her room every night and watching her sleep? That is just plain creepy. Stalking is a crime for a reason.

She was even less likeable. I hate weak women and she is weak. No one can be as clumsy as she portrayed herself. She wasn't nice to the friends she had. Plus, as soon as Edward came onto the scene she dropped them completely and spent all of her time Edward. You would think the author would have made up for these charachter flaws by making her smart but she didn't. She didn't realize she was going to the prom? There had to be signs all over school, not to mention everyone would have been talking about it. She also whined incessently and I hate whiners.

He is strong and controling, she is weak and adoring with no thought of herself. That would be the makings of a classic abusive relationship. Woman can be strong and still be attractive. Just ask Rhett Butler.

Lastly, it just wasn't that well written. It was long on insipid dialogue and short on description and motivation. A well written story pulls you into their world and I never felt pulled in. Interesting? Yes. Captivated? No.

All in all it was a pleasant story to read at the ball park which is where I read it but it wasn't compelling. On a scale of one to ten, I give it a five. Will I read the other three books? Probably but only because Sarah already has them. I wouldn't waste my money on buying them.

For those of you that have read them. Agree? Disagree? Am I expecting too much? I would love to hear your thoughts.

4 comments....porters always have something to say!:

jporterGOP said...

I've heard a whole lot of people complain about that book. Seems it may have gotten overhyped.

Shaelynn said...

Sadly, though I love Twilight (and the rest of the series, in general), I have to admit that I agreed with a lot of what you said.

I do, however, think that people need to keep in mind that this is a YA series. It doesn't excuse all of the plot holes or the issues that I have with some of the main characters (because I still think YA novels can be intelligently written), but I think it's an entertaining story, and I'm excited to see fantasy as a genre making headway.

I'm glad you read it and gave it a chance, but I definitely understand why you didn't really enjoy it. =)

carriegel said...

i think if i were a young adult i may have enjoyed it more. i tried to keep that in mind as i read the story. i guess because i had read so many rave reviews i anticipated it being more on the level of gone with the wind or even little woman though they are in no way a fantasy novel. i wanted to like it more but i didn't. i may read the other books out of curiosity.

megawatt miler said...

ok if you had read the book carefully you would know that they said they were in high school b/c it was easier to blend in starting that age. and they did live there, go away for a period of time, and came back when people forget them (except that might be in the 2nd book so maybe i can't blame you for missing that).

also if you had read the reviews you would have known it wasnt well written! i liked the 1st and 3rd books, not so much the 2nd and the 4th.

i agree that bella was in general really annoying. unfortunately she only gets worse.

i still liked them though, and im glad you finally read it!

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