Book review

As I am preparing to teach children's/young adult literature for the first time, I'm trying to tune in to what young children are reading and what kinds of books pre-teens and young teens are reading these days.

One of the most current series of books that have gotten a great deal of "buzz" in the pre-teen/teen world is the Stephanie Meyer's books, the first of which is titled Twilight. Many adults have been reading this series, but what I've noticed in blogworld is how many times I hear the blog writer mentioning that her daughter is reading the series or that she & her daughter are reading the series together. These moms applaud the lack of profanity and sexuality in these books (at least in the first one), and they all mention how nice it is to get a "clean" read.

Hmmmm. The hero of this story--Edward--is a teenage vampire, and the heroine--Bella--is in love.

We were talking about this series in our office the other day, and we all agreed that we were concerned about the message these books give young girls: that it’s all right to be in love with a handsome, perfect boy who is not only dangerous, but wants to kill them. With so much positive press, and pre-teens loading up on these books, my question is this: are we the only ones who think this message is dangerous?

One of my colleague's students gave her a copy of a book report from a young teenage girl who was responding to her reading of the novel. Here are some scary excerpts from the book report:

“’Edward in the sunlight was shocking. I couldn’t get used to it, though I’d been staring at him all afternoon. His skin, white despite the faint flush from yesterday’s hunting trip, literally sparkled, like thousands of tiny diamonds were embedded in the surface.’ My happily ever after, my very unattainable dream, is to be a vampire and live for all eternity with Edward Cullen. This dream is made unattainable due to the fact that one, vampires don’t exist, and two, Edward, my beautiful and perfect Edward, is actually a fictional character. . . .
The story between Edward Cullen and Bella Swan (my idol) starts off when Edward nearly kills Bella because of her unusually potent smell. . . . Now the story continues with Edward and Bella tempting fate, daring to actually let their love for one another grow and blossom into something so beautiful, but at the same time so dangerous. But in Bella’s defense, what girl wouldn’t be drawn to a fabulous, gorgeous, caring, and sensitive . . . well vampire? . . .
Edward is perfect. He is smart, he has a great capacity to love, and he is passionate. He is good at everything, and would give up anything just to be with Bella. He loves her unconditionally and with a passion that wouldn’t be equaled anywhere else. I would honestly give my left leg just to feel in real life what Bella gets to feel for all eternity in the books.
The way Stephanie Meyer writes the books makes it feel so real. You literally wake up in the morning and think you’re going to go to school and actually see Edward in one of your classes. You dream about Edward, you obsess about Edward, and you tie every little thing that happens in your life back to the book. It’s almost like the book takes you over, and your [sic] living in a different world. . . Twilight is an escape. It serves as a beautiful story that you can delve into and just forget the real world, to live a life that would truly be incredible. Sure it bred some illogical fantasies and spurred a dream that I know will never come true. But I believe I’m a better person for reading Meyer’s books. I believe that there is an Edward Cullen out there for me somewhere, and I’ve learned to wait for that and not settle for second best. Even if I don’t get to be a vampire and live forever like my ill-fated fantasy, I can still have my happily ever after, and I’m willing to wait to find it.”

Huh?

Oh my goodness . . . the horror of it all . . .

“I would give my left leg just to feel in real life what Bella gets to feel for all eternity in the books.”

The movie advertisements are scary too: something along the same line of sacrificing everything you believe in for love . . . how wonderful.

I keep thinking about the protests about Harry Potter and how people were afraid of magic being taught to children. Where are the protests about Twilight? And HP teaches some good values and this book seems frighteningly about sacrificing values.

On a lighter note, this is what another colleague said:
"I know I fantasize about Kevin Costner, but I would not give up my left leg for him. For one thing, I need both legs to run into his arms."

We digressed.

What do you guys think about this series? If you have pre-teens/teens, are these books popular in their schools?

Inquiring minds want to know . . .
Jana