The Diva Review:
I'll admit it. I avoided reading these books for as long as I could. I had lapped up the Anne Rice vampire sagas in the 80s and I sort of felt like I had done vampires. And well. Really, Anne Rice has pretty much owned the vampire genre for the past 20 years. I also object to movies being released as soon as the ink is dry on the pages of the book. But pretty soon all of my friends were talking about Twilight - and, my friends aren't teen-agers. I figured I'd give it a shot. Don't worry - no spoilers.
Wow. Is it possible to be in love with a 17 year old fictional character? This book is every bit as intriguing as the early Anne Rice books. It is a little less sophisticated, given that it's intended for adolescents, but certainly as addictive in that Harry Potter kind of way. Twilight is luscious. It's incredibly well written, imaginative and thought out. Just when you think that vampire stories are played out, along comes a highly original series of stories that once again, update the genre.
Meyer manages to tap into the part of our imagination that is in love with love. The book evokes an almost visceral response. Maybe it's because I'm a girl. Maybe it's because I haven't felt that kind of angst in many, many years. Either way, it's certainly an enjoyable ride.
We have Bella, the unlikely heroine. Either she has a very skewed view of herself – as so many of us do even beyond high school – or every guy in Forks, Washington has bad taste. I like her because she's smart, pretty and practical. She's had a tough time growing up but seems mature beyond her years, which is never so apparent as when she's with her high school friends. Or, when I think about myself at that age and the decisions I would have made (most of them bad, I suspect). Then we have Edward. He is quite literally every girl's dream guy (including mine). Except for he's a vampire. Which honestly, pales in the face of how amazing a guy he is. And lastly, we have Jacob, Bella's friend who suffers so terribly from unrequited love.
Bella faces some unusual challenges as the girlfriend of a vampire and it's quite fascinating to see where Meyer's mind takes us. This book, the first in the series, is utterly compelling. I read the last page, put it down and immediately picked up the second book.
I'm so excited to see where this takes us.
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