Twilight and New Moon
Stephanie Meyer
Little, Brown Young Readers, 2005, 2006
Genre: Fantasy/Horror/Romance
Read if: You like light horror, fantasy and especially romance
Best for: A wide age range from early middle school to late high school.
If you like it, try: The Host by Stephanie Meyer
Rating: 2.5/5
What happens when you have a very vivid dream about a boy and a girl talking about how they are falling in love, and about how their love is impossible, because the boy isn't really a boy at all: he's a vampire. If you're Stephanie Meyer, you take that dream and write your first novel that then spawns one of the most successful series for young adults in recent memory.
Unless you have been living in a crypt, you probably already know at least some of the plot. Twilight is the tale of Bella Swan, a gawky seventeen year-old who moves from the bright sunshine of Pheonix, Arizona to the rainy gloom of Forks, Washington to live with her father. Life in Forks is dull until Bella meets Edward Cullen, a beautiful, mysterious boy with a secret. When Bella uncovers the truth about Edward and his family she must decide: put herself in certain danger, or walk away from the only person she's ever loved.
In New Moon, the series' second installment, Bella must deal with heartbreak in the face of Edward's sudden absence. Unable to handle the pain, Bella finds peace in her growing friendship with Jacob Black. Sweet and understanding, Jacob helps Bella to become herself again. But like Edward, Jacob is more than he appears, and his dark secret will force Bella to choose between the two people she cares about most. Obsession and desire, friendship and the lengths we'll go for love are the essence of this series.
I read Twilight and its sequel New Moon over the Christmas break, but I have been hesitant to write this post. The reason: I have talked to a lot of people about the Twilight phenomena, and the violence of the reactions to it has made a little nervous to add my voice to the mix. People either love them or hate them. There doesn't seem to be much middle ground. I however, feel like I am of two-minds about the series.
Edward is not impressed that I can't make my mind up about Twilight
First, its strengths: Twilight is engrossing. Told in the first person, the reader is immediately drawn into Bella's world. From the loneliness of being a stranger in a strange town to the first pangs of love, you feel it all with Bella. Through a vampire story, Meyer is able to speak of the intensity and often forbidden nature of first love and first passion.
Just as engrossing as Twilight, New Moon is in many ways the mirror of its predecessor. About heartbreak instead of love and friendship instead of romantic relationships, New Moon is in ways superior to Twilight because the characters become more real and three dimensional. In New Moon Bella grows up through the pain of her first heart break.
Now for the weaknesses: this series is not particularly well written. Although it succeeds in depicting an intensity of emotion that is felt by the reader, the writing itself is weak. Too much needless description and wordiness bog the books down. New Moon shows definite improvement from Twilight in the narrative, but both books suffer from their style.
The characterization is also worrisome. Bella is eternally clumsy and needs Edward to save her; her desire for Edward must be controlled because if they succumb to it she will die. The characters, especially Edward, are sometimes one-dimensional, and this takes away from the story's power.
Whether you love them or hate them, there's no getting away from Twilight. What this series has done for YA is get people talking about the genre, and looking for more, and that is perhaps its greatest strength.
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