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denisesbookstory's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Cultural appropriation, and Gaslighting
morenowagain's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Such a hard book to rate. We all know it's not a great piece of literature, and Meyer's racism and obsession with weird age gaps definitely depreciates the quality of the literature that is there. But it is so fun. I had a blast reading it. It's silly, very of-it's-time, funny at parts, and a very interesting take on vampires. The background characters are far more interesting than Bella and Edward. I read this for class but I am tempted to read the rest of the series again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Cultural appropriation
bellaiu's review
challenging
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Blood, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
nevadagrrl's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
It validates dating and partner violence.
Beyond that, your immortal, what do you do? Keep going to high school for eternity. Mkay.
Beyond that, your immortal, what do you do? Keep going to high school for eternity. Mkay.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Gaslighting
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: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
cjblackwell's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I've tried multiple times to read the paperback of this book but could never get past 30 pages because the writing is not my cup of tea. Listening to this book made it a lot easier and I truly enjoyed the story, as it is different enough from the movies that there is a lot added. I especially appreciated that there is a ton more backstory for the rest of the Cullen family, as was not done in the movie.
I would have liked to have seen more interactions with Jacob but mainly because I was under the impression he was much more involved in book 1. (It now makes sense to me why so many people are team Edward. If your first experience was with the books, Jacob pops up like 3 times. I think he was also much more likeable in the movie.)
As for the audio book specifically, the person's Who was chosen to read this does not match the tone at all. I would have expected to hear someone who had a deeper or raspier voice (similar to how Kristen Stewart talk in the movies). Instead, the person they chose sounds like bubblegum and the color Baker-Miller pink. Much of the time, her tone does not match with what is being said. She puts inflection into dialogue that should sound the opposite. It got better as the book went on or maybe I got used to her voice, but they definitely could have picked someone whose voice fit better.
I would have liked to have seen more interactions with Jacob but mainly because I was under the impression he was much more involved in book 1. (It now makes sense to me why so many people are team Edward. If your first experience was with the books, Jacob pops up like 3 times. I think he was also much more likeable in the movie.)
As for the audio book specifically, the person's Who was chosen to read this does not match the tone at all. I would have expected to hear someone who had a deeper or raspier voice (similar to how Kristen Stewart talk in the movies). Instead, the person they chose sounds like bubblegum and the color Baker-Miller pink. Much of the time, her tone does not match with what is being said. She puts inflection into dialogue that should sound the opposite. It got better as the book went on or maybe I got used to her voice, but they definitely could have picked someone whose voice fit better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Gaslighting
merah's review
dark
mysterious
slow-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Blood, Cannibalism, Stalking, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Violence, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Racism, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
liv_green85's review
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Gaslighting
Minor: Bullying
cgn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
2.0
Rereading this a decade later and in a language I’m not 100% comfortable reading has helped me focus on the plot instead of the vibes, and wow I understand why so many people were up in arms. It’s a fun, ridiculous dark romance, but it’s marketed as young adult, and it’s concerning to think about all the young girls who were exposed to such poor communication at a formative age and have it painted as a great love story. Overall, it’s not a compelling book to me now, though I still had fun at times.
I also watched the movie today, and it was fascinating to see how they moved things around to make it a more evenly paced film.
I also watched the movie today, and it was fascinating to see how they moved things around to make it a more evenly paced film.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Blood, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence, Medical content, Stalking, and Gaslighting
Minor: Death and Murder
theresabee's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Violence