By Bob Chrisman
Yesterday evening as I sat in my favorite coffee shop and drank my French press of Irish Breakfast tea, I finished Twilight, Book One of the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer.
In August when I decided to read the series as a result of the red Ravine post My Kid Got Bit By Stephenie Meyer, the library waiting lists for each book spanned anywhere from 18 days to over three months. I placed reserves on all of them, including her new book for adults, and waited.
Fate ordained that I would read Books Two through Four first and then receive Book One. (Not as bad as my experience with Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin, where I read the series in reverse order—kind of like a life review of the characters.) In the case of the Twilight Series, it didn’t matter that I hadn’t known how the tale began because each book told a complete and fascinating story.
Sometimes I read long into the night, well past my bedtime. After I finished New Moon (Book Two and the first book that arrived from the library) Meyer had transformed this 56-year-old, full-figured white guy from Missouri, not into a vampire but into a fan. (I still laugh thinking that ybonesy advised me when I told her I was going to read the series, “…just remember it’s written for young adults.” Maybe I should listen to the people who tell me to grow up.)
The stories are classic vampire/werewolf tales, but with enough differences and twists to make them new and refreshing. These vampires can be out in the sun (sort of). They live in the Pacific Northwest, where the sun rarely shines (something I knew to be true for years despite my friends in Washington and Oregon who insist, “But the sun was shining yesterday before you arrived”).
Some of the vampires don’t kill humans to drink their blood—for ethical reasons. The werewolves aren’t really werewolves (but I can’t tell you what they are, since that information doesn’t come out until the final book, Breaking Dawn). They don’t morph into hot-blooded killers only during the full moon and you can’t kill them with silver bullets.
Most impressive, these books are not small. Breaking Dawn is almost 800 pages long. The fact that Ms. Meyer has written books that require an attention span of greater than 15 minutes and that teenagers have read them impresses me beyond words. This woman has lit a fire under her readers, which is now spreading to adults who typically won’t read “young adult” fiction. (My name, by the way, has inched close to the top of the reserved list at my local library for her book targeted to adults, The Host.)
I would have moved blissfully through the world without the knowledge of Stephenie Meyer or the main characters in the Twilight Series books—Edward Cullen, Jacob Black, and Isabella (Bella) Swan—had I ignored the post on red Ravine, but my life would lack a certain richness that these books brought to me. A good story offers more rewards than I can sometimes imagine, and these are good stories. Not once did I feel like I was reading young adult fiction.
If you love vampire stories, read these books. Try to read them in order—Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn—but if that’s not possible, just know that you can start anywhere in the series and not be lost (slightly confused for a short time, maybe, but not lost). You will not be sorry.
Once you’re done, tell me, Are you an Edward or a Jacob fan? You can only pick one.
Bob Chrisman is a Kansas City, Missouri writer whose pieces Hands, Growing Older, and Goat Ranch have all appeared in red Ravine.
Hey, Bob, I’m so glad you read the series and got back to us with this review. I’m also relieved that you liked it. My warning about it being a “young adult” series was more out of the guilt I was feeling for inspiring you to go off and read something that I wasn’t sure would be the least bit interesting for adults. Whew! Glad it was a good outcome.
I also started the series, and I started with Twilight. I haven’t finished it; in fact, I realized I had too many books in progress that I needed to go finish some before really digging into Meyer’s series. (I’ve since finished two, so I’m getting closer. Just one more to go before I can begin.)
I can say that I was pleasantly surprised by the writing. I got as far as Bella starting her new school. Must be less than 20 pages into it, but it did draw me in. Very straightforward writing. I’m looking forward to picking it up again.
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Thanks for the reminder about this author, Bob. You say you completed it at your favorite coffee shop. I wonder, can you write in coffee houses? I find it impossible, though reading someone else’s writing with a mug of hot chocolate is quite nice.
I followed your lead and put Twilight on hold at the library. There are 488 people in front of me: amazing! I agree with you, it’s fabulous to know she has hit a nerve with teenagers and they are reading. Balderdash to all those critics who say no one reads any longer!
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ybonesy, if your daughters have anymore suggestions for things to read, please let me know. I will check them out. Stephenia Meyer turned out to be a winner.
I picked up her “adult” book, The Host, before I left for Baltimore-Washington, read a little of it, and stuck it in my backpack for the flight. I read it for the 3 hour trip to BWI and finished it on the trip home. As the pilot announced our approach to the KC airport, I finished the book.
I won’t try to tell anyone that these books are great literature, but the woman knows how to tell a story (if you like vampire stories). The Host isn’t about vampires, more science fiction. But after about 30 pages I knew I would read it until I was finished.
I would love to see her interviewed about the books.
Has anyone else read them? I would be interested in knowing what someone else thought about her ability to tell a story (not her choice of subject matter).
Teri, I can read better in coffee shops than I can write in them, but I do write there. The writings tend to concern the people in the shop and the stories I make up about their lives. Although, I did complete most of my 50,000 words for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) last November in my favorite coffee shop. Maybe a focus helps me to concentrate on my writing in such a noisy place.
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Bob, I can’t remember if we talked about this already, but have you read the Harry Potter series? I loved those books. Read all of them.
Right now Em and I are reading The Hobbit each night before bed. I read it in 9th or 10th grade, and the teacher who assigned it had a real affect on me. But for the life of me, I couldn’t remember what the book was about, so I decided to read it to Em. She and I like it a lot.
I also read to both Em and Dee earlier this year a young-adult book called Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin (LINK). It’s about a teenage girl who dies and goes to Elsewhere, which I suppose is like a more practical version of Heaven. I enjoyed reading it.
Hey, I didn’t know you’d done NaNoWriMo. What did you write?
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ybonesy, I read all of the Harry Potter books too. I did enjoy the books although the Prisoner of ?Whatever? wasn’t as satisfying as the rest in my opinion.
I read the Hobbit. Liked it too.
Haven’t heard of Elsewhere, but I will check it out.
Yes, I did NaNoWriMo last year for the first time and wrote a fictional piece about the murder trial I attended in February of that year. I found that writing 1500 words or more a day was very easy once I got into the groove. I decided to do it this year and write another fiction piece.
Have you done NaNoWriMo?
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Bob, you asked, and I’m telling. I am all for Jacob. Still. Even after finishing the entire series. He was always good to Bella, and was a friend to her above all else. I never got what Bella saw in Edward except for his looks.
While I did enjoy the books for pretty much the same reasons you expressed, I still have reservations about Bella. I found her shallow and short on self-esteem – she had her entire self-worth and identity wrapped up in her boyfriend. She matured a bit in the last book when she had someone else to think about, but still, Bella lacked aspirations and interests other than her boyfriend, which made her a very one-dimensional and unsympathetic character to me.
Well I enjoyed The Sopranos too, and most of those characters were pretty unsympathetic. Go figure.
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Bloomgal, Bella’s behavior didn’t seem shallow to me. I saw her as a fairly typical teenager, but then my experience with teenaged girls is extremely limited. Maybe someone with teenagers could comment on whether the kids are shallow, are short on self-esteem, wrap up their self-worth and identity in their boy/girl friends and peers. Do they have aspirations and interests outside belonging to someone or something?
My experience with adults is that many still lack a lot of self-esteem even after they become accomplished humans. For me the teen years were extremely difficult because I didn’t fit in with the people around me. I identified with Bella on that issue. Unfortunately I didn’t have an Edward or a Jacob in my life. I think I would have clung to them in a similar way.
Thanks for the comments.
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OK, after hearing the girls in the carpool all this past spring, I’m leaning toward Jacob. He sounds like someone to like and respect as well as to love. Edward sounded vain.
Interesting, your take on Bella, bloomgal. I’ll ask Dee what she thought—did Bella have depth? I wonder if she saw anything there or had any criticisms about Bella’s reliance on her boyfriend.
Bob, I’ve never done NaNoWriMo, although I’ve followed the progress of many blogging friends who do it. Sounds like they provide a good structure, plus a supportive community. Those two things alone seems like good stuff to me.
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Bob, I keep forgetting to ask my niece if she’s read this series. What’s the youngest age recommendation for these books?
My niece gave me a book to read the last time I was home. I left it in the back of Mom’s car when I got in the plane at Philly. She since mailed it to me but it’s at the studio and can’t look at the title at the moment. It’s about a girl whose family runs a funeral home. I think it’s a book about dealing with death at an early age. I’ll have to drop the title in when I see it again.
I haven’t read many books for young adults. Except for the Harry Potter series which I loved. In fact, Liz and I watched a Harry Potter movie we hadn’t seen last weekend. He’s almost all grown up; so different than when the film series started.
Good question about the coffee shop writing, Teri. I am able to write in coffee shops once I nest in and get settled. But I don’t do it as much as I used to. They can be very distracting. But if I go into the writing zone, it doesn’t matter about the noise. I sure can’t talk to people while I’m writing though, and don’t like to be interrupted. I do think I do my best writing in silence. But you know what coffee shops are good for? Stimulation of details. I write some of my best people, sensual, environmental details in coffee shops.
Bob, did you read the Anne Rice vampire series? I wondered if kids that liked these Meyer books would eventually move into Rice’s very adult portrayal of the vampire world. I notice you did mention how the blood was handled in the Meyer series. I wonder if there are parents who have problems with vampires altogether. Remember that big protest about the alchemy in J. K. Rowling’s Potter books. That’s the whole magic, the archetypes that bring her books alive.
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I read every book of Anne Rice’s that have been published under her name except for the most recent ones. Her books are definitely for adults who have more life experience.
The people who wanted the Harry Potter books banned also probably wanted The Wizard of Oz series banned and Catcher in the Rye and some of Mark Twain’s work and on and on. Who can figure that censorship thing out because it gets too weird fairly quickly? I’ve read every banned book I can get my hands on and have been disappointed by many of them because I couldn’t understand why people wanted them banned.
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Yeah, the book banning thing is strange to me. After all, they are books. Straight out of someone’s imagination. Why take the magic out of writing fiction? When I was in junior high, I was reading Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and everything by Edgar Allen Poe. The kind of books that had gore and mystery and suspense and a little sexual innuendo, too. I think you learn to have passion from reading writers who have passion for their genre.
Hey, I saw somewhere that a film adaptation of Twilight will be released on November 21 of this year. Is that true? It’s only a few months away. Will all you Meyer fans want to go to the movie? Or stay pure to the imagination and the book?
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While I was in the car this morning, I happened to catch an interview with an author of young-adult books. Her name is Kelly Link (LINK), and she recently published her third collection of short stories, Pretty Monsters. She read from one story of a young poet who buries his poems with his girlfriend (who has died) and then later decides he needs to get the poems to enter into a poetry publication contest. So he goes and digs up his girlfriend’s grave but accidentally digs up the wrong grave and gets into trouble with the ghost of the person in that one.
This short excerpt was so funny and so charming that I immediately wanted to read the whole thing. Here is the link to the radio program, “To the Best of our Knowledge” (LINK) and to the audio of that interview. Definitely at least worth listening to. I think I’ll add Kelly Link to my list of authors for when I buy my girls books.
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This is going WAY back, but some of my favorite young adult books were written by Madeleine L’Engle: “A Wrinkle in Time” (my favorite); “A Wind in the Door”; and “A Swiftly Tilting Planet.”
I remember reading “A Wrinkle in Time” aloud to my kids when they were little. I think that the offerings in both children’s and young adult literature have expanded enormously since I was kid and are continuing to thrive. Part of this can surely be attributed to the popularity of these books with adults!
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QuoinMonkey, I went to the closest library and picked up Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin, the book your niece recommended. How old is she? The story has some interesting views of the afterlife that might upset some conservative parents. I liked it enough to read the whole thing. In truth I liked the story. I will be interested in what you think of the treatment of the afterlife.
When I was a teenager I read books on mythology and classics like Treasure Island, The Last of the Mohicans, Robinson Carusoe (sp?) and Cathcher in the Rye. My father read voraciously and always had books in the house for us to read. Like you I loved Edgar Allen Poe stories.
I don’t know that there was “young adult” literature in the 1950’s. Was there?
Yes, a movie about the book is coming out. I don’t know that I will see it because, even though I liked the Harry Potter movies, I didn’t see them until long after they were released.
ybonesy,
As to Edward’s snobbishness, he is a VAMPIRE who doesn’t drink human blood so he tries to stay aloof. He doesn’t see a human as a friend, but as a temptation. It would be like having a friend who is dieting and every time you go out with them you order a scrumptious dessert and two forks. Edward wants to avoid temptation which he must do all of the time. He loves Bella. The other side is that Jacob is a rival who could have a “normal” relationship with Bella if it came to that point and Edward knows that he can’t. Okay, I will quit defending Edward because he doesn’t really need it;)
I will check out Kelly Link’s books.
NaNoWriMo is for people of all ages. I like the expectation that I will write at least 50,000 words in a month which is a book. It works if I write everyday or most everyday. I highly recommend and, at the end, when they verify your word count and you make it, you receive a certificate that you can print. I loved that part…over-achiever that I am. They do lots of good work with the donations they receive.
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Bob, cool that you liked Elsewhere–you’re fast at getting those books and reading them! It was me who mentioned the book—it was a little old for my daughters, but they’re at that age where I can pick books that I know will at least hold my attention as much as theirs. That’s the cool thing about young-adult books.
I thought the treatment of the afterlife was very grounded, a pragmatic notion of what is generally thought of as fuzzy and hard to fathom, especially for kids. I also thought it was clever in that it answered questions one might have about why they might feel the presence of someone who’s deceased, for example. Or how it might be that if you loved more than one person in life, how you might be able to resolve that by being with only one of them in afterlife. You see–very practical answers to questions one might have about afterlife.
How about you? What did you think about that part of it?
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Oh, thanks, too, for sharing your perspective on Edward’s snobbishness. Yes, I can understand how his desire to not drink human blood would lead to a detachment.
QM, you mentioned the Nov 21 release date for the movie version of Twilight. Yes, Dee has the date etched in her brain, as do her friends. I’ll want to read the book before then.
breathepeace, I loved A Wrinkle in Time. I got the girls the audio books one year for Christmas, and we listened to it on road trips. One of the cool things about the audio books was hearing the different voices for the old magic ladies.
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I liked the vision of the afterlife. One thing I wondered was how many parents would be upset with the idea that if a teenager killed him or herself (like the guy from the rock band) that they would end up in such a lovely place? Teen suicide is a problem in this country. Maybe those kids who attempt suicide and those who succeed don’t stop to think about the afterlife. I don’t know.
Also, her version of the afterlife conflicts with more christian beliefs in what happens when we die. I don’t think that some people would want their children to have this vision of life after death.
One of the things that bothered me about the Twilight series and the message it sent to teens was how Bella slept with Edward for a long time and lied to her father. She wanted to sleep with a man (Edward) who was very ancient and she was underage. Granted they couldn’t engage in sexual activity for reasons I won’t divulge, but still. Maybe that’s my stuff. I can see why some parents wouldn’t want their children to read this series.
I am not sure that I would be a very good parent. Maybe teenagers are more sophisticated than I was when I was that age. I think that is probably a safe bet, don’t you? Thankfully I never had the opportunity to raise children. I am glad that you decided to be a parent though.
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Yeah, I can see where some parents might have issues, especially if they believe that the books provide or reinforce morality lessons. But for me, the books are more about imagination and creativity. I think kids get their core values from their parents and families, and as long as they are strong and know right from wrong, they can handle the themes in the books.
The guy in the rock band killed himself through a drug overdose, and so that actually shows how life as he knew it ended. And remember that the main character struggled with giving up her life on Earth. It was just getting good, and she didn’t want to leave it—in fact, almost went back. So really, Elsewhere, as a place, was not a nirvana. It was more like a retirement community in reverse. Not too exciting for a teenager.
But you’re right, some people wouldn’t even want to plant the seed of an idea of afterlife looking like that. But I don’t worry that my girls actually believe that’s how it is. That’s the beauty of fiction.
Interesting about the sexuality in Twilight. But you see, reading something like that with your kid (not that I’ve done that) can serve as an opening to talk about sexuality and age differences.
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ybonesy, thanks for the comments. I thought you would know from experience with your daughters.
I read books when I was a teenager that didn’t represent my family’s values, but I didn’t turn out too bad as a result. Books opened up a world of ideas for me. I quickly understood that not everyone thought the way I did and that made the world more interesting and exciting. I saw possibilities. I forget those days sometimes.
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[…] Bob Chrisman is a Kansas City, Missouri writer whose pieces Hands, Growing Older, Goat Ranch, and Stephenie Bit Me, Too have all appeared in red Ravine. Hands is about the death of his 92-year-old […]
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Bob, I wanted to come back to this post and mention that I saw on the local Minneapolis/Twin Cities news, that the actors from the movie, Twilight, were at the Mall of America last week and, let me tell you, that place was packed. They showed footage from the MOA and interviewed a few fans. I haven’t seen as many rabid, screaming teenagers since The Beatles hit America. This series is HUGE. I think the movie opens on November 21st. 8)
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[…] How about you? Do you move with the throngs or do you hang back until the crowds thin? -Related to posts My Kid Got Bit By Stephenie Meyer and Stephenie Bit Me, Too! […]
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[…] other red Ravine posts include Growing Older, Goat Ranch, Stephenie Bit Me, Too, and The Law Of Threes. Possibly related posts: (automatically […]
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[…] Winfrey’s book club and the phenomenon of young adult fiction like Harry Potter or the Twilight Series. (I read the first five Harry Potter books out loud to my daughters and then got hooked and had […]
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Just wanted to report that Stephenie has also bit me. My youngest and I are on Chapter 15 of Book One, Twilight. We started the book about ten days ago, and we read a chapter a night. On Saturday we read four chapters in a row.
I completely understand now why Edward is kind of standoffish. I’m looking forward to reading the whole series. And to seeing the movie.
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yb, I had wanted to come back to this post. Every Sunday our newspaper lists the top 15 best sellers. For 3 weeks in a row Stephenie Meyer books have topped the 1st four in the list. In order, “New Moon”, “Eclispse”, “Breaking Dawn”, & “Twillight”. Wow! These are some very popular books! D
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Isn’t it amazing, diddy? I mean, to have the first four on the list. That’s phenomenal.
We’ve said it before on our posts on these books, the writing is very accessible. The first about 10 chapters were so appealing to me—I wanted to get to the part where the main character, Bella, discovers that Edward is a vampire.
Even where we are now, smack dab in the middle of the book, where it’s clear Bella and Edward are in love with one another, the repetitiveness of the swooning for one another—over his beauty, his amber eyes, his grace, and over her uniqueness among human girl teens, her courage—it is in many respects how teen first love is. It just goes over and over in your head.
Now, the underlying question becomes, Will Bella give up her human-ness and, by virtue, her virginity? After I finish the series, I hope to be able to have a conversation about that aspect of the book with my oldest.
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[…] Stephenie Bit Me, Too! by Bob Chrisman […]
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You just won me over!! Loved how you worded your introduction to Stephenie’s books and her world of vamps. I am far from a teen. I read them as a part time librarian since they were the “latest greatest”. Although they will not win any great literary awards—they were pure fun. Loved them. Have read them and re-read them. Will do so again. Pure escapism. Thanks for your fun post!!!
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olivia, thanks for stopping by this post. It sounds like you are another huge Stephenie Meyer fan like Bob and ybonesy. And that’s high praise knowing you are a part-time librarian, too! Think of all the books you are around every day!
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Just last night I started Book 2 in the series. I enjoyed Book 1, BUT I’m not without concerns about the main character and the relationship with Edward.
We touched on it briefly in comments here, although I hadn’t read the book yet. I do believe there is an underlying message about Bella and her willingness to give everything up for Edward…her life, her essence…her core being as a human. And there is, of course, the metaphor of giving up her virginity.
And, as some of the other moms I’ve talked to about this, all mothers of 13-year-olds who’ve read it, Edward is controlling. Amazingly so.
I am sure there has already been mountains written and talked about this among feminists and others. And I don’t want to detract from the fact that the books are a huge success and have pulled many girls into the fold of reading and loving literature. And their moms.
I think the themes and messages can be used to enter into meaningful conversation, in fact, with our daughters, nieces, and other kids we love.
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