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grboph's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This is maybe one of the worst books I've ever read. I am legitimately unsure why my eleven-year-old self enjoyed them as much as she did. Probably for the reasons I gave it two and a half stars, which is pure entertainment value and being unintentionally hilarious at times. But seriously, I'm not sure how this book was even published. The writing is terrible, the characters are all incredibly annoying (all for completely different reasons), and Edward and Bella's relationship, which is held up as being romantic and perfect and star-crossed, is actually very toxic and abusive (one of their first ever conversations is just Edward gaslighting the hell out of Bella and it made me quite uncomfortable). This book (and the series) makes an excellent hate-read, and I'm definitely going to be finishing out the series at some point soon. The only people I think I'd seriously recommend this book to are eleven-year-old girls or someone who I really want to confuse. However, I'd recommend it to anybody else looking for something comically bad and cringey to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Car accident, Confinement, Violence, Medical content, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Death, and Abandonment
riyahwiththefya's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Cannibalism, Death, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal death
braelynm_22's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Kinda slow to start but really picked up speed in the end. Cute romance and unpredictable. Bella is super funny and sarcastic which brightens the mood. I feel like it was kinda one note though, it needed something else to happen.
"Don't be self-conscious, if I could dream at all, it would be about you. And I'm not ashamed of it."
"Don't be self-conscious, if I could dream at all, it would be about you. And I'm not ashamed of it."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Car accident, Medical content, and Sexual content
Minor: Violence, Animal death, and Death of parent
Includes kissing, flirting, killing animals, tracking people, and injuriesging090803's review
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Well... It IS the first Twilight book... It is a good book. Do I really need to explain?
I always love the beginning with the mysterious Edward and Bella, how they get to know each other, how Edward is difficult to follow... However, I can't stop cringing over some facts with Bella being way too much into this 17 years old teen. It kinda weird.
The end is also really nice even if I cannot really understand why but, oh well, it was necessary. Between the beginning and the end, it kinda got long but it's okay.
It is the first twilight book.
I always love the beginning with the mysterious Edward and Bella, how they get to know each other, how Edward is difficult to follow... However, I can't stop cringing over some facts with Bella being way too much into this 17 years old teen. It kinda weird.
The end is also really nice even if I cannot really understand why but, oh well, it was necessary. Between the beginning and the end, it kinda got long but it's okay.
It is the first twilight book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Minor: Medical content and Car accident
jackieyvette's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Reread
What can I say Twilight will always be iconic. I read it for the first time 14 years ago and nothings changed, it’s still one of my favorites.
Crying Score: I used to, but not anymore.
What can I say Twilight will always be iconic. I read it for the first time 14 years ago and nothings changed, it’s still one of my favorites.
Crying Score: I used to, but not anymore.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Car accident, Death, and Blood
peso's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It was ok. I don’t know why, but I found Edward annoying.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Car accident, Medical content, Stalking, and Violence
Minor: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship
ashleylowry's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Totally worth the read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Violence
Minor: Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury
navayiota's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Very nostalgic. Really not nearly as bad as people claim. The writing was perfect when describing the atmosphere, not as great during conversation but it wasn't too distracting. There is some abuse disguised as love which isn't great but not as bad as I remembered.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Stalking, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abandonment, Kidnapping, and Medical content
soundlysmitten's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
One star for inspiring an entire generation to start reading again. And one for sparkly vampires ;)
I think I was ten or eleven when a friend let me borrow her copy of Twilight. The suspense kept me turning pages through church, lmao. Putting myself in Bella’s place, I remember feeling really frustrated at times, but also like the swoon worthy moments absolutely made up for all the unfairness.
This time around, I felt more detached. Which is to be expected, lol. But while I still found Edward’s patronizing chuckle irritating, I was unimpressed by his “musical voice”, and did not so much as sigh. I couldn’t overlook how controlling he is in every little matter or how he talks down to Bella like she’s completely incompetent when she got by just fine on her own before she met him. Moreover, I couldn’t make allowances for how various other characters also take away Bella’s agency at his discretion (i.e. Emmett restraining her, Jasper manipulating her emotions, all of them keeping her in the dark/making decisions without her). And I couldn’t deny the fact that Bella often responds to toxic behavior in unhealthy ways (i.e. being flattered when Edward spies on her and stalks her, feeling like it’s a commendable thing for him to give her the occasional choice in a matter, not breaking up with him when he threatens to get her nurses to drug her into unconsciousness...)
Basically, Edward is obsessed with Bella in the scary sense and Bella’s got major blinders on. He watches her sleep and wants to drink her blood, and she thinks it’s a romantic display of trust not to let anyone know when she plans to be alone with him. In my opinion, she isn’t a great heroine, nor he a great hero. I get that the danger, intensity, and singularity of their love is supposed to make their story epic, but as an adult, insta love can be hard to find compelling regardless. And the way it plays out in this saga seems a bit foolish to me. Of course forgetting about the rest of the world and valuing your relationship over your wellbeing is not unheard of. But the concept in and of itself is obviously not something to celebrate, and most people would hopefully draw a line before sacrificing their humanity to bank on forever with somebody they met at seventeen 😅
Despite everything mentioned above, I’d say the writing style is alright for a YA novel meant to be accessible to younger audiences. It’s not exactly gorgeous prose, and there is some annoying and inconsistent characterization as well as a few nonsensical lines of reasoning, but everything that made me cringe had to do with content rather than delivery. In general, the language flows pretty well. The pacing seems odd at times, though. And I’m not sure whether the little twists pull any weight cause I’m too familiar with the story at this point to fairly evaluate.
However, something I haven’t considered since my first read through is the novel’s misrepresentation of Native American culture and the author’s appropriation of the Quileute tribe. The number of problematic attempts at humor—which include Bella saying she’s so clumsy she’s “almost disabled” and trying to make a joke out of albinism—also previously went over my head. And there’s a stupid part I didn’t recall in which Bella takes “unnecessary cold medicine” cause she’s too hyped on Edward to sleep. Like, I know a kid could get into a lot worse both drug and activity wise... but really?
Okay, that’s all from me.
Just kidding—back to pose a question on the incident in Port Angeles. Bella almost gets snatched and Edward tells her: “Only you could get into trouble in a town this small. You would have devastated their crime rate statistics for a decade, you know.” Anyone else think his comment is a little blame-the-victim, and that it’s messed up to fabricate attempted assault just to support the notion that a woman is incapable of taking care of herself?
Yes, fiction is fiction. But the media we consume plays a role in shaping our culture, and we consume a lot of it, so I’d personally like to see better standards set in fictional works. Especially when a piece is marketed towards young readers. I think books with controversial content should be examined and discussed, though, rather than put on a black list. And I don’t think it’s right to judge anyone for the way a story resonates with them. So if you like Twilight cause nostalgia or cause fiction is fiction and the story just gives you the feels—I hope you do so shamelessly. (Fuck misogynistic hate).
I think I was ten or eleven when a friend let me borrow her copy of Twilight. The suspense kept me turning pages through church, lmao. Putting myself in Bella’s place, I remember feeling really frustrated at times, but also like the swoon worthy moments absolutely made up for all the unfairness.
This time around, I felt more detached. Which is to be expected, lol. But while I still found Edward’s patronizing chuckle irritating, I was unimpressed by his “musical voice”, and did not so much as sigh. I couldn’t overlook how controlling he is in every little matter or how he talks down to Bella like she’s completely incompetent when she got by just fine on her own before she met him. Moreover, I couldn’t make allowances for how various other characters also take away Bella’s agency at his discretion (i.e. Emmett restraining her, Jasper manipulating her emotions, all of them keeping her in the dark/making decisions without her). And I couldn’t deny the fact that Bella often responds to toxic behavior in unhealthy ways (i.e. being flattered when Edward spies on her and stalks her, feeling like it’s a commendable thing for him to give her the occasional choice in a matter, not breaking up with him when he threatens to get her nurses to drug her into unconsciousness...)
Basically, Edward is obsessed with Bella in the scary sense and Bella’s got major blinders on. He watches her sleep and wants to drink her blood, and she thinks it’s a romantic display of trust not to let anyone know when she plans to be alone with him. In my opinion, she isn’t a great heroine, nor he a great hero. I get that the danger, intensity, and singularity of their love is supposed to make their story epic, but as an adult, insta love can be hard to find compelling regardless. And the way it plays out in this saga seems a bit foolish to me. Of course forgetting about the rest of the world and valuing your relationship over your wellbeing is not unheard of. But the concept in and of itself is obviously not something to celebrate, and most people would hopefully draw a line before sacrificing their humanity to bank on forever with somebody they met at seventeen 😅
Despite everything mentioned above, I’d say the writing style is alright for a YA novel meant to be accessible to younger audiences. It’s not exactly gorgeous prose, and there is some annoying and inconsistent characterization as well as a few nonsensical lines of reasoning, but everything that made me cringe had to do with content rather than delivery. In general, the language flows pretty well. The pacing seems odd at times, though. And I’m not sure whether the little twists pull any weight cause I’m too familiar with the story at this point to fairly evaluate.
However, something I haven’t considered since my first read through is the novel’s misrepresentation of Native American culture and the author’s appropriation of the Quileute tribe. The number of problematic attempts at humor—which include Bella saying she’s so clumsy she’s “almost disabled” and trying to make a joke out of albinism—also previously went over my head. And there’s a stupid part I didn’t recall in which Bella takes “unnecessary cold medicine” cause she’s too hyped on Edward to sleep. Like, I know a kid could get into a lot worse both drug and activity wise... but really?
Okay, that’s all from me.
Just kidding—back to pose a question on the incident in Port Angeles. Bella almost gets snatched and Edward tells her: “Only you could get into trouble in a town this small. You would have devastated their crime rate statistics for a decade, you know.” Anyone else think his comment is a little blame-the-victim, and that it’s messed up to fabricate attempted assault just to support the notion that a woman is incapable of taking care of herself?
Yes, fiction is fiction. But the media we consume plays a role in shaping our culture, and we consume a lot of it, so I’d personally like to see better standards set in fictional works. Especially when a piece is marketed towards young readers. I think books with controversial content should be examined and discussed, though, rather than put on a black list. And I don’t think it’s right to judge anyone for the way a story resonates with them. So if you like Twilight cause nostalgia or cause fiction is fiction and the story just gives you the feels—I hope you do so shamelessly. (Fuck misogynistic hate).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Blood, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Stalking, Car accident, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Violence
toadsandtales's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Cultural appropriation, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, and Eating disorder
Moderate: Addiction, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Car accident
Minor: Body shaming, Misogyny, Alcohol, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Medical content, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt