The Twilight Series

Or why is a Christian Mom reading books about vampires??


Who would have thunk it. Me, reading books marketed for teens --books about vampires no less. And to top it off I couldn't put it down! I read one 500+ page book in 24 hours.

I started reading Twilight by Stephenie Meyer because-- Jannelle and her friend decided to read the books when they noticed a lot of Facebook Flair. Coincidentally, that friend's dad, just happened to buy it for her that day, so Jannelle got one too. And then Julie, my 15 year old--the self proclaimed non-reader, read all three books back to back. When Melissa came to stay for the week and she read all three books in a couple of days. Somewhere in that mix, Jillana read them too. They asked me to read them so that we could discuss it. (What mom can resist that kind of request?) I'll admit that if I had read about the books online and realized that so many folks are obsessed with these books, I probably wouldn't have wanted to read them. But at their (nagging) request, I decided to read the first book, Twilight. I was really busy and couldn't seem to find time to get started, so Jillana read the first couple of chapters to me while I was cooking one night. Once I got started for myself, I couldn't put it down. I was intrigued, but I didn't think I would become obsessed. I say obsessed, because after I got started, I read the second and third books in a little over 3 days. --the third book in just over 24 hours. So now that all 5 of us are finished reading we are having discussions about true love, boys, loyalty and vampires.... yes, you read that correctly-- vampires. The story is so compelling because it's different from anything I've ever read. And yet, it's also very familiar-- a great mixture of reality and fantasy. What would you think if I told you that the vampires are very moral? It's marketed for teens but there is very little rebellion, no sex, no drugs, no alcohol?

I love the characters! The book is written from the perspective of a 16 year old girl, Bella. At least she's 16 at the beginning. She's responsible and very mature. She finds her true love after moving in with her father in the small town her mother ran away from when Bella was just a baby. Bella sacrificed her own happiness to allow her mother a chance to develop a relationship with her husband. Edward belongs to a family of the most beautiful people she's ever seen, but they appear a little strange to her. As I said before, Bella is mature, and very observant. It doesn't take Bella very long to figure out that a little strange isn't all they are. But that's all I'm going to tell about the story. My girls didn't tell me a lot and it was actually more fun to read it and discover it for myself.
Warning--Speaking of, be careful going online to look up the books, because there are a lot of spoilers out there. If you are the slightest bit interested, pick up Twilight and start reading it. Once you get about halfway thru you are going to want to get New Moon, the second book in the series to have on hand as soon as you are done. Likewise you'll need Eclipse ready to go when you finish New Moon. The fourth and final book, Breaking Dawn, will be released on August 2. I'm anxious to see how the story ends.
Release Party for Breaking Dawn. Borders will have a release party, like they did for the Harry Potter books. They have the party for a couple hours and then at Midnight, you purchase the book and go home. No doubt we'll stay up all night reading-- well I won't, I'm going to wait for one of them to finish 'cause I'm not buying a copy for me. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to take the girls and hang out at the bookstore. We won't be doing the costume contest or anything(snicker)....

A movie too??!! They are making the books into a movie, the first is due to be released in December. I'm not sure that I'm interested in seeing the movie. I don't do thriller type movies. I 'll probably wait until my daughter sees the movie first, and then I'll decide.

When I was a teen and young adult, and an avid reader, I read a few suspense novels or thrillers, Stephen King and the like. I decided (after having nightmares) that love stories and biographies were more for me. I don't even watch suspense movies. Somehow seeing the images is worse than the sugar coated images I conjure up in my mind when I'm reading,I like the sugar coating(wink). When I saw Jaws in the mid seventies, it gave me nightmares and is the sole reason I cannot swim to this day. I was taking swimming lessons when I saw the movie in the Theater. I started dreaming that the shark was in the pool. So I didn't/couldn't go back. OK, I'm a chicken . cluck cluck...

Now you see... where I've been over the last couple of weeks. In the midst of all the family reunions and other work I had to do, I've been reading. I remember now why I stopped reading when my babies were born. I can get obsessed--- um let's call it focused, remember, I like the sugar coating. I mentioned to a friend the other day, that I didn't stop reading so much because I was afraid that I would tune out a crying child like I tuned out my sister when we were teens. I don't think I would have ignored my baby, but I would have been annoyed at the distraction. (smile)

So, now that the reading giant has been awaken from hibernation, read any good books lately?

As soon as I'm finished reading Eclipse for the second time (The first time to find out what happens, the second for clarity and details), I'll be stepping away from the Twilight books and getting on with my life... at least until Breaking Dawn is released.