I am, first and foremost, a bookworm. So if there is a book or series out there that has ever been popular – for good or bad reasons – I have probably read it. The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer is no exception. I was in late middle school when the series became wildly popular, so naturally, I wanted to sink my teeth into the books too. I have seen all of the movies multiple times, but as for the books, I read them twice in middle school and not since. I am an advocate for the idea "don't judge a book by its movie," so now, years later with the desire and the time, I wanted to read the series again and see how they compared to my memory of the story.
It's no secret that Twilight hasn't gotten the best reception in popular culture. Between Kristen Stewart's bland acting all throughout, the creepy CGI baby in Breaking Dawn, and of course, the "still a better love story than Twilight" meme, the popular consensus is that the series is awful. While I acknowledge these opinions (read: not fact, because a series is bad cannot be established as truth), I wanted to approach my reading with an open mind, as if I was reading the series for the first time. Which I practically was, since it's been so long.
About three things I was absolutely positive. One, my reaction to the saga was a total surprise. Two, there was a part of me – that waxed and waned like the new moon – that knew it might not be a popular consensus. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with this series.
Before you click off in disgust that an English major could possibly find literary value in the Twilight saga – hear me out.
Every series has its flaws.
Though Stephenie Meyer has since said her writing wasn't the best, I actually thought it was really good. It was enough that middle school me understood it years ago and enough now that I was intrigued.
The story itself is admittedly awful at some parts. There were storylines, characters, and the like that I wish would have been omitted or written differently. There were certain scenes and lines that had me physically cringing because they were that bad.
But is there a book out there that is truly perfect? If the books weren't written this way or written by someone else, it simply wouldn't be the Twilight saga. For that, I have to respect Meyer's craft.
I became high-key obsessed very quickly.
I know when I read the series in middle school, I liked them – I did end up buying my own copies of the books – but I don't think I ever liked them like how I do now. I started Twilight on a Sunday, and I finished Breaking Dawn on Saturday. One week for the entire series! That's around 2,500 pages depending on where you look. Maybe this shows I don't have a life, or it tells that reading about vampires and werewolves is addicting. I think it's the latter.
When I really get into a series, it consumes my mind; it's all I can think about. When I'm reading the book, I'm so into it I don't notice anything that's going on around me. When I'm not reading the book, I'm thinking about it anyway, imagining possible outcomes, reflecting on the characters, wondering what it would be like to live there, etc. Any bookworm can likely relate to these feelings. I really only feel this way for my absolute favorite series, and I can count only a few times that I've gotten this obsessed.
To admit that I got this deep in the Twilight saga is really saying something, for me. To be honest, it's almost embarrassing how often I imagined what it would be like to have a vampire boyfriend, pondered the big-picture questions (Would I become a vampire to stay with my boyfriend? Would I forgive Edward after his disappearance? Would I keep my half-vamp half-human baby? etc.), and I conducted in-depth research into the Olympic peninsula region as I now am determined to travel there one day (and stay in Bella's house because it's real and an Airbnb).
I decided that this reaction of mine was very real, and frankly, I love feeling this way about books, so I had no problem with it.
The movies are a whole other story.
When I finished the books, I watched all the movies. To be blunt, they don't hold a candle to the books (which is true for any movie based on a book in my opinion). The movies are a good resource for fans that want to see the books acted out or for someone who wants to see what the series is about, but for those that want to appreciate the series, stick to the books.
Twilight is truly the worst thing ever committed to film. Without a doubt, it is one of the worst movies I have ever watched. Cinematically, the other movies are far more pleasing but are nothing more than a watered-down version of the books. This is to be expected since a film can't possibly convey all the details in a book, but as for me, I'll stick to the books.
I learned a lot from my re-read.
There are actually redeeming qualities in the story. As I said, there are things about the series I don't like, but there were plenty more things that I loved. Edward's protectiveness (admittedly rather obsessive) over Bella. The way that they fell in love quickly and hard. Billy's aloof yet caring parenting. The Cullen family's closeness. The werewolves' groupthink. Edward humming a song he wrote for Bella to her as she fell asleep. All of that, and more.
Don't take other people's opinions as fact. I was afraid that rereading the series would be disappointing because they would be worse than I remembered. In reality, I had the total opposite experience. If you haven't read the Twilight saga in a while, I invite you to reread it and see if your opinion changes, because it certainly changed mine.
