Gretch-a-sketch (old)

My dawesome friend Megan pulled together a few girls (myself included) to do a panel on the Twilight Saga. It's funny and interesting, so please give it a read!
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

While we're on the topic, I also thought I'd post the review I wrote back when I finished Breaking Dawn. I didn't post it because back then I was still under the whole "review-blog-delusion." Better late than never, right? There's some repetition between my answers for Megan's thing and this review, which is to be expected. Also, hers is much cooler, so read it first.

(One last thing...I have not yet read Midnight Sun and I support Stephenie's decision to not publish it. And the movie looks iffy, but I'll see it open weekend anyway.)

Spoilers, natch

I remember reading Twilight during the week a major paper was due in my sophomore year of college. Big mistake. “Book crack” was how I explained it to a fellow bibliophile. She borrowed my copy and went straight to the book store to pick up New Moon, which I polished off the weekend before finals. That probably wasn’t the best move of my college career, but what did it matter? I’d been bitten.

Before I get to the review, let me put up my argument in defense of the Twilight saga. I’ve never viewed it as more than a Young Adult Romance/Suspense with vampiric themes. I do not believe people should give it any more credit than that. Meyer is not going to be the Austen of our generation and it is not on par with Harry Potter in the realm of YA literature. As far as Stephenie Meyer’s writing goes, it’s frankly hackneyed and repetitive. However, she is a gifted storyteller and her ability to create a compelling and original love triangle is enviable. Her books are abundantly entertaining, which is why they’re so massively successful. Most of all, they’re dead sexy without being inappropriate (minus one headboard, of course).

Breaking Dawn covers the time from Bella and Edward’s wedding through a period of great change in their lives. It is not the strongest book in the quartet, but it does the series justice. The defining passion of the previous books is not lost—maybe it even gained steam along the way. The way Stephenie planned Book Three in BD is either genius or a huge cop-out and I honestly have to lean towards the genius side. There are twists and turns that I didn’t except (granted, a few were painfully obvious). For the most part, the new characters are remarkable enough to hold the reader’s attention during parts that might otherwise seem tedious. Her writing (not surprisingly) ranges from trite to touching. I will admit, though, that there were sections that were actually done quite well, primarily in Jacob’s book and also during the meeting with the Volturi. If only her editor had helped as much in the other portions!

I was very impressed with the way that Stephenie handled the intimate moments in Eclipse, so I was naturally curious with how she’d deal with it in BD. It’s not thinly veiled, but still tasteful enough that parents really shouldn’t freak out about their girls reading it. I know plenty of moms will feel differently, but that’s just my opinion.

I was glad to see a whole section from Jacob’s POV. I have always adored Jacob and I needed that closure from his perspective. I totally thought he was going to imprint on Leah—I should have picked up on the fact that it was a ruse. Lots of reviews rant about the fact that he latches onto young Nessie, but I wasn’t that weirded out by it. (Editor's note: Looking back, I am pretty skeeved out.) The match of Quil and Claire was some funny foreshadowing for that. It’s not like Jacob has to wait for the normal amount of time, either.

Vampire Bella is substantially more enjoyable to read than her human counterpart. Sure, the personality switch is contrived, but what about any of the saga isn’t? She was always meant to be a vampire. Why wouldn’t she be happy and loving and ready for the challenge? Bella gets a loving husband, a family, and eternal life. Plus, she gets to look super hot while kicking the crap out of the evil guys. That actually makes complete sense from an LDS perspective.

Again, many reviewers seem irked by the fact that Bella gets everything (and at such a young age!) without any personal sacrifice. They complain about the marriage agenda and how she isn’t ready for motherhood. I almost agree with these things, but not quite, because a) Bella suffers from a ginormous martyr complex, b) of course it’s going to have a happy ending, and c) I really wouldn’t go taking lessons on love from these characters. Writing this review is definitely the most thought I’ve put into the series as a whole. It was fun to read and I’d still recommend it to other people. It met every single one of my not-that-high expectations.

Renesmee?

What an appalling name.

I mean, really.