Raise your hand if you or someone you know is hooked on Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series of books. Chances are there are lots of hands in the air out there.
My twelve-year-old daughter got her copy of Breaking Dawn, the fourth and final book in the series, at a midnight release party last Saturday. She and her friends opted for independent bookstore Bookworks’ gathering, which included costume contests, psychic readings, and book giveaways.
Dee dressed in book cover theme colors of red, white, and black. She wore a red ribbon (from Eclipse, Book Three) on her leg, a red-and-white flower (from New Moon, Book Two) in her hair, and an apple (Twilight, Book One) tied to her belt. Had she found one, she’d have carried a chess piece (Breaking Dawn) too.
Big disclaimer: I haven’t read any of the Twilight series books. However, I did hear all about them last school year on the days when I drove carpool for four mid-school-aged girls.
I learned about Isabella (Bella), the klutzy yet “normal” (which is to say, non-vampire and non-werewolf) girl, and Edward, the “vegetarian” (non-human-blood-sucking) vampire who loves her but also lusts for her blood. I learned there’s also a werewolf in the mix, Jacob, who becomes Bella’s good friend and eventual romantic rival to Edward.
I also found out that one girl in the carpool couldn’t stand the idea of Bella and Jacob together, whereas the other three were at least open to the idea. And I heard about all the funny things you discover when talking about books with friends: how they each envisioned Bella to look, how they all mispronounced certain place names, and just how excited they were about this series and the movie being made of the first book. (Release date: December 12. We’ll buy tickets in advance.)
But there was a lot I didn’t find out, such as the basic plot of the story, what moved it forward, and whether the writing is truly good (I think it must be; these kids are savvy readers). Especially after seeing Dee’s enthusiasm this past weekend, I’m left with an honest-to-goodness curiosity about the books myself.
Funny, Jim’s also cued in (now that he’s clued in) to the phenomenon of Stephenie Meyer. He pointed out this past weekend that her new book for adults, The Host, landed on the New York Times Bestseller list recently. And every other day, it seems, he is showing me yet another article about Meyer and Breaking Dawn.
The last such find, which appeared in the August 11 issue of Business Week, focused on how the series’ word-of-mouth success has come about because of Meyer’s unusual (for a blockbuster author) engagement with readers at book-signings and on social networking sites, her acting upon fan input (such as hosting a Twilight prom after a reader suggested it), and the way she has outwardly encouraged her fans to create related websites. For example, Twilight Lexicon was started with Meyer’s knowledge and blessing as a way to organize the books’ facts. It has since expanded to include a blog and a store, and is now one of the most popular places for kindred spirits to gather and converse.
Other articles highlight equally unusual aspects of the series and/or author: mother-daughter bonding over the series (Newsweek); increased tourism in the town of Forks, WA (Seattle Times), where Bella moves and her odyssey begins; and reactions to Meyer from the Church of Latter Day Saints, as the 34-year-old mother of three happens to be Mormon (Observer).
By now, Dee and her friends know who won over Bella. For some strange reason, I’m rooting for the werewolf. I’ll be in the dark until Saturday, though, when we pick up Dee from summer camp. I have a feeling we’ll hear all about Edward and Jacob and Bella on the drive home.
I also have a feeling that I might be part-way through Book One by then.
-Related to post Book Talk – Do You Let Yourself Read?
I haven’t heard of these books or their author, but I’m happy for the lead. I have a friend who regularly checks out children or young adult books at the library on her day off. She gets 3 or 4, and lays on the couch all day reading. I don’t know if Meyer’s books are quick reads for adults, but a day on the sofa reading what is currently hot for young girls sounds great.
I’ve been listening to/reading a lot of authors lately writing about their craft. I’m sorry to say I can’t remember who said this, but these lines have stuck in my mind:
“…a day spent reading? Now that’s a good day. But a life spent reading? That’s a good life.”
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Your description of the fascination your daughter and her friends have with Stephanie Meyer has made me plan to go to the library today to check out her books. Or, if they are as popular as I suspect, I will put my name on the waiting list for every one of them.
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ybonesy, what a great post on young adults, children and reading. I was so happy to see it because my niece (who is 11) and I were talking about a book series she is reading when I was in Pennsylvania and I was thinking about doing a post on it.
She gave me another book to read before I left for the drive to Philly yesterday (in order to catch my plane back to Minneapolis) but alas, my luggage was 2 lbs. overweight and I had to take some things out. (When I’m over the limit, it’s usually books!) I took the book she gave me out of my suitcase and dropped it into a windbreaker pocket. Well…guess what? I left the windbreaker in the back of Mom’s car when I rushed out at the Philly airport. So Mom’s going to mail it.
I’m thrilled that kids are reading and into books. And your daughter and my niece are avid readers. It’s so heartening for other writers and especially those who are interested in writing children’s books.
I made it home last night and was so sad to find out that Liz had caught a bug and wasn’t feeling well. Her fever broke last night though and she’s better today. Thanks for holding down the fort while I was on this whirlwind trip (as R3 put it). It was full and good and crazy all at once. More to come on that as I write and process over the next few weeks. 8)
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I’m thinking about picking up the first book today. The movie comes out soon, so I’ll need to be up to speed I guess.
Excellent post . . .
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Even though I don’t have children or age-appropriate siblings, I have been unable to avoid hearing about these books as well. They sound rather different than the usual popular teen books, and I’d be interested to read your take on them.
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OKay, a trip to the library was already on the schedule – maybe I can hook one of these books. How can you resist vampires and love stories? I would have loved it at 11, I’ll probably love it at 54!
(Though more than likely, my name will go on a lonnnnnnng list. Maybe I could get a copy at my independent book store and donate it to an after school child-care program when I’m finished. That sounds like a plan!
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I’m glad to see that some of you are inspired, as I am, by Dee’s (and that of so many other young adults) enthusiasm for these books. I was talking about them with a friend recently, and we both said that we could never get into Anne Rice’s (LINK) vampire books, yet something about seeing what young adults are into and why, that’s a whole different ball of wax.
Bo, sounds like you were a reader at a young age. The idea of donating it to an after school program sounds perfect.
teaspoon, I’ll definitely come back and give my take, even as I get going.
Brain, same here. BTW, Dee wanted me to read the Golden Compass series after we saw that movie together, and I did try to start on the first book. Didn’t get very far, though.
QM, yeah, it’s SOOOO good to hear your voice again on the blog. Have I told you how much I missed you?? 8) What book did your niece give you? Is she into fantasy/adventure? Dee sure is. The other day when we were driving, she turned to me and said, “When I grow up, I want to have an adventure.”
Yeah, one of the very best things about these young adult blockbuster books, like the Harry Potter series, is that they have young people reading and talking about books and interested in writing. I’m so grateful to these authors for keeping reading alive in the face of all the technology pulls on our kids.
Again, welcome back. Give my best to Liz.
Bob and Teri, I’ll be curious to hear if you can get the books through your libraries. Let us know, and thanks for your comments.
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BTW, I’m such a Stephenie Meyer newbie that I just found out through a commenter on my Flickr account that the author spells her first name “Stephenie.” Oops.
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ybonesy, I knew you were going to ask me those questions (Comment #7) and I can’t remember the titles at the moment. She handed me the last book right as I was packing up to leave. I think it won a book award and is about a girl whose parents work in a funeral home. Consequently, she’s gone to a lot of funerals. It’s partly about dealing with loss and death. The other is a fantasy series about princesses, dragons, and frogs and she’s on the third book, I believe. I’ll get more details and let you know.
BTW, I am very glad to be back. I was surprised at how little energy or time I had to write on this trip. But so much research and taking in details. I had decided before hand to take care of myself by getting sleep when I needed it. So I didn’t stay up late posting like I did last year. Hopefully, the experiences will all come out in the writing over the next months.
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I went online and reserved all of Stephenie Meyer’s books. At first I searched for Stephanie Meyer only to realize that I had spelled her first name wrong. Steph with an “anie” has written 2 books while Steph with an “enie” had written 5 books.
I must wait anywhere from 11 days for the first book of the series to 87 days for the last book of the series. I hope they come in order. I hate reading series out of order, but I will if I must.
Thanks again, ybonesy. I love to read based on other people’s suggestions.
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Bob, thanks for that update. Yep, that’s a pretty long wait for Book Four.
As you read it, just remember it’s written for young adults. Did you read the Harry Potter books, by chance? I loved them, so I’m hoping for an equally enjoyable experience with these ones.
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QM, haven’t heard about the funeral home theme, but that would be an interesting life experience for a young girl.
Also, the princess-dragon-frog theme is not ringing a bell. I know Dee was at one time last year and year before into a book about dragons called “Aragon.” It was written by a 15-year-old boy (or about that age) who was home-schooled. It became a huge hit as a book and was also made into a movie.
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I’m midway through the third book. The writing is pretty good, not great, but easy enough to enjoy.
For really fun vampire (and other odd creature) books, I suggest Christopher Moore. I laugh out loud frequently when reading one of his books, and the characters seem more ‘human’ to me.
That said, when can I borrow book four?
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I love how you end this comment, bloomgal. Made me lol. I’ll have to ask Dee. She’s pretty good about lending her books. She lent Book Three to someone and already got it back.
Hey, how have you been??? You are doing such incredible things around art. I didn’t realize you were part of the group that’s opening the artist’s cooperative. I want to do another post, maybe this Fall…bloomgal, one year later.
Glad you stopped by. Call me about the book…next week. Dee’s gone through the weekend.
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I wrote about Twilight after I read it. It was a unique book, I’ll give her that much. I didn’t find that the story stuck with me in any lasting way, and I haven’t felt a great need to go get the next one, like with the Harry Potter series, but she’s certainly done something right based on her enormous popularity with adolescents.
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I remember you writing about it. I’ll link to that post, because now I can’t remember…were you kind of wondering what the big hullabaloo was?
Glad to hear your impressions. Yeah, with Harry Potter, I was as eager to read Book Seven as Dee. I was glad she read it in 48 hours, or however short it took.
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Here’s the link to amuirin’s Twilight post (LINK). This is a great post, btw. I just re-read it. Gives lots of good background on the story. Hey, I commented saying my kid was way into it. Ha!
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That’s right, I remember you said you talked about it in the car with your daughter and her friends. Thanks for link, you didn’t hafto. I hope you enjoy the book, don’t let my perceptions color the initial reading. The beginning is particularly intriguing to me, when she describes her new surroundings. Familiar feel.
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I’m going to the library tomorrow for these books. I love children’s literature. Your daughter’s costume sounds very artistic. Good times. 🙂
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