Reviews

Book: Twilight
Author: Stephenie Meyers
Reviewed by: Shreya - Grade 9
Rating: 1/5
The novel Twilight by Stephenie Meyers was...interesting, to say the least. This first novel
attracted many readers and grew into a hugely popular book series and movie franchise -
exploring vampires, werewolves, and so much more. It follows a girl named Bella Swan, moving
in with her father in a town called Forks. As Bella settles in, she meets an intriguing boy named
Edward Cullen who possesses some extraordinary abilities - in a supernatural way, and Bella is
enamoured with him. They get closer together, and the story progresses from there.
Frankly, I thought this book wasn’t very good. That isn’t to say it’s absolutely terrible - this series
receives a lot of hate and undue criticism, and while so many of them are valid, Twilight is still
somewhat entertaining, and by that, it shouldn’t deserve the extreme hate it gets. That is the
purpose of a book, anyway, right? To be entertaining. Of course, others could argue that there
are more valid purposes of a book - to inform, persuade, and inspire. But it’s worth noting that
we are not going to be inspired by a boring and uninteresting book. And entertaining readers is
a valid goal on its own - I know, as a voracious reader, my main goal of reading is to be
entertained.
That aside, I didn’t enjoy the book for various reasons. First - the characters. Bella has no
personality, other than she loves Edward. And she’s a doormat, catering to everything and
everyone else, which is both disappointing and frustrating. She never makes her own choices,
with the exception of being with Edward, which wasn’t a good choice anyway. Edward is
controlling and a little creepy, such as when he watches her sleep. (And for all the weaknesses a
vampire could have...Edward sparkles? Really?) Second - the writing. The storyline is a bit weak,
jumping here and there. As for her writing, the descriptions go on and on, and there never
really seemed to be a point. Third - it conveys some harmful ideas, especially for young girls.
They are both obsessive with each other and it is not necessarily healthy - Edward is also
controlling, while Bella is just excusing it all “for love.” Younger readers may see these actions
and think that’s normal and “romantic” when it’s not.
Overall - I don’t recommend it, but if you’re interested, go for it - as long as you realize it may
portray some unhealthy ideals.