I was first talked into buying Twilight by my local bookstore’s friendly clerk. She assured me lots of adults were reading Twilight, and in fact, the bookstore’s whole staff had read it. I trusted her and picked it up. By this time, the second book in the series, New Moon, had just hit the shelves. Like most adults, I was curious as to why this series was such a runaway hit among teenagers. I continued to read the rest of the series, but I wasn’t standing at the bookstore to get it, oh no, it wasn’t that amazing.
I will admit: I continued to read because I was hooked on the plot. I wanted to know what was going to happen with Bella—would she choose Edward or Jacob? Would she be turned into a vampire or a were? The writing is simple enough that you can’t help but keep reading. I know a lot of people who weren’t fans of the series, but read them anyway. Add to that, I always want to be kept up to date on what is trending in the genres I read. But I digress, as usual. My conclusion was meh, and by the time I got to the final book, Breaking Dawn, I had a full on what the hell was that! I disliked Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse, but people, I love love loved the final book in the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn. Why? Oh, it was full of snark-worthy goodness, like The Babysitters Club meets Stephen King. Okay, not so much, but you get what I’m trying to say. It was nothing like the rest of the books in the series, things started to get creepy and horrific.
If you haven’t read the Twilight Series, step away from this article now because it’s about to get ugly. (Spoilers for Breaking Dawn ahead.)
In Breaking Dawn, Bella finally gets her man...err...vampire, Edward “sparkles instead of goes up in flames” Cullen. Long story short, Edward is afraid to have sex with dear Bella because of his superhuman strength; he thinks he’s going to break her. It finally happens (he might be several hundred years old, but he’s still a horny teen at heart) and here’s when things get beyond ridiculous: Edward...umm, does her into unconsciousness. Or at least we think that’s what happened, since Bella doesn’t remember it (after all, all the books are told in Bella’s sole point-of-view. So if she was blacked out at the time, who knows what happened?. Although most sane women would stay away from the guy who made her see stars—literally—for some reason Bella goes back for more, and the result is Renesmee, who isn’t the coolest fetus out there. Wait, let’s go backwards a bit, how does Edward, an undead vampire, have viable sperm in the first place?! Who the hell knows, 'cause that alone could have me thinking way too deeply.
So now Bella is pregnant with a baby that is growing at an alarming rate and then the real drama starts! Renesmee is hurting Bella, she kicks so hard she breaks Bella’s ribs and severs her spin. Okay, seriously WHY do we allow our children to read this? That alone disturbs me beyond belief. Not to mention makes me fear childbirth. Never mind that in previous books, that while Bella is sleeping, Edward sneaks in to watch her sleep. In my book that’s not sweet—that’s stalking and creepy.
Back to Renesmee, this baby apparently has telepathy and can hear peoples’ thoughts whilst in the womb, another “huh?” moment, but the worst is yet to come. Bella is dying, the baby is killing her, and so Edward performs an emergency C-Section…with his teeth. HOLD THE PHONE, say WHAT? I have no idea what is in the writer’s mind, but it’s a place I would never like to be, because that’s some straight-up creepy right there. Bella is still dying, though, so Edward turns her into a vampire, the baby is born and Jacob the werewolf realizes that Renesmee is the love of his life. Yes, a newborn baby. Is the love of his life.
Do parents even read this stuff before allowing their children to read it? Hell, someone could have warned me about Breaking Dawn, I would have loved a big fat disclaimer before I picked up that gem. It literally shocked me how this YA could go from Twilight (strange love) to Breaking Dawn (baby eating mommy). There was no lead up that would have warned a reader that things were about to get ridiculous.
But the point of this article is Why I hate Twilight. Let’s keep in mind; this is a young adult series, not an adult series. I also understand that this is a fantasy series (albeit a very disturbing one) but it sets some unrealistic situations for young girls. For a book that has gotten the hype the series has, the writing to me isn’t anything special. Bella can’t seem to do anything without Edward, that doesn’t set a good example for young females in my opinion as it seems to me Edward is a tad bit possesive. Her father is never around, how is that possible for a teenager? My mother was always around & if I took off across the country, you bet your ass she’d have words.
Another issue I have is with the perfection of every single character in the book! As a teenager, you have flaws, no matter what. As teens we all thought we didn’t have flaws, but once you hit you mid 20’s you realize every single flaw you did have. Bella doesn’t have flaws at all, which is a “Mary Sue” thus making her unrealistic as a human character and impossible to replicate.
There you have it; this is why I am not a fan. I tried to like it, but you can’t like everything you read! I can’t have love for a vampire that can be out in the sun, hunts animals, is a teenager that will never grow up AND he sparkles.
Natasha Carty reviews Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy on her website Wicked Little Pixie and lives in Toronto, Canada, with her cat, Seamus.
