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A review by bludgeoned_by_hail
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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
Oh Twilight... how to even engage with a book like this on its own merits, now that even the backlash to the backlash to the backlash has gotten stale?
At the core of it all is a pretty mediocre but not too offensive YA romance. It's not as bad as the haters say it is, it's also not as subversive and genius as the defenders try to intellectualize it into being. The writing style is pretty competent, pretty simplistic, feeling almost "proto-Wattpad" at turns, but it does capture the inner voice of an awkward teenage girl very realistically.
I actually think Bella's joyless, asocial, parentified personality is one of the strongest points of the book and genuinely pretty unique in a lead (unlike the avalanche of brunettes with messy buns she precipitated). I especially like the strained, weird relationship with both of her parents, it comes through very vividly in so many little subtle details, particularly at the beginning. The other big asset of the book is, much like the movies, just its pure escapist value. There is something very relaxing and pleasant about the sleepy, rainy atmosphere of Forks, the slow slice-of-life of Bella's day to day, and the understated but pretty interesting hints to a wider-ranging paranormal system. I found myself picking up the book to decompress quite a bit!
However, unfortunately, Twilight is still a love story, and it's such an incredibly boring and unappealing one that it really drags everything good about the book down. It's not even that I don't think this "lion fell in love with the lamb" dynamic can work, but it would require me to percieve Edward Cullen, the world's lamest vampire, as even slightly threatening or believable as a horror monster. No matter how much he insists that he's a killer and a monster and could crush Bella's skull accidentally (seriously, they go into this so much that it begins to feel like a sexual fantasy at points), I simply can't buy it. Their interactions do read a lot like high school romance texts, but I don't know why anyone would want to read that. The fact that the story devolves into a pretty unnecessary and stupid action finale that Meyer seemed to also not be really enthusiastic about writing definitely doesn't help either.
All in all, I do think Twilight has gotten a pretty bad rep, one that might not be deserved. But it's not like I would recommend it either loll
At the core of it all is a pretty mediocre but not too offensive YA romance. It's not as bad as the haters say it is, it's also not as subversive and genius as the defenders try to intellectualize it into being. The writing style is pretty competent, pretty simplistic, feeling almost "proto-Wattpad" at turns, but it does capture the inner voice of an awkward teenage girl very realistically.
I actually think Bella's joyless, asocial, parentified personality is one of the strongest points of the book and genuinely pretty unique in a lead (unlike the avalanche of brunettes with messy buns she precipitated). I especially like the strained, weird relationship with both of her parents, it comes through very vividly in so many little subtle details, particularly at the beginning. The other big asset of the book is, much like the movies, just its pure escapist value. There is something very relaxing and pleasant about the sleepy, rainy atmosphere of Forks, the slow slice-of-life of Bella's day to day, and the understated but pretty interesting hints to a wider-ranging paranormal system. I found myself picking up the book to decompress quite a bit!
However, unfortunately, Twilight is still a love story, and it's such an incredibly boring and unappealing one that it really drags everything good about the book down. It's not even that I don't think this "lion fell in love with the lamb" dynamic can work, but it would require me to percieve Edward Cullen, the world's lamest vampire, as even slightly threatening or believable as a horror monster. No matter how much he insists that he's a killer and a monster and could crush Bella's skull accidentally (seriously, they go into this so much that it begins to feel like a sexual fantasy at points), I simply can't buy it. Their interactions do read a lot like high school romance texts, but I don't know why anyone would want to read that. The fact that the story devolves into a pretty unnecessary and stupid action finale that Meyer seemed to also not be really enthusiastic about writing definitely doesn't help either.
All in all, I do think Twilight has gotten a pretty bad rep, one that might not be deserved. But it's not like I would recommend it either loll
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment