This is it. I am going to do something many may not like. I am going to defend The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. If you do not know by now, many people feel this series has no place in today's young adult fiction genre. They have varying opinions on why, ranging from that lead character Bella has a lack of depth, no characterization, or is consistently passive within her own life. Other complaints include that the writing is cliche, the sentences used are horrible, and so much more.
It is true, Meyer may not be the world's best author, but she never claimed to be. She wrote a simple story about a normal girl stumbling into a supernatural world. She wrote from the cliched and sometimes horrifying perspective of a teenage girl. For the part of the population of women who have made it past that strange teen stage and into adulthood, we shudder to remember the crazy dramatics we were as teens. For Bella, though, it is even worse because at first she is dealing with a world she does not understand, then a world she is almost a part of but can't be. And on top of all that, someone is always trying to kill her.
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Honestly, Twilight has many things readers of heartfelt action stories want to see. You see fear of aging and death, a wish for status or praise, the desire of love, and last but not least, superpowers. The story does have some plot issues and things don't always make sense, but in this world of fantasy, should it? I love the fact that one minute Bella is worried about school or what to cook her police chief dad, Charlie, for dinner and then the next she is concerned for her best friend and werewolf, Jacob, getting into a fight and hurting himself. Even if you hate the writing and can't stand Stephenie Meyer, the series is still interesting and can still allow some readers to escape reality for a few minutes within its pages.
I think you should read Twilight because it has values. It shows that not everyone believes in the same things. Bella, the female character is the one pushing for sexual interactions before marriage and Edward, the male character, says no way. In today's society (within books, films, and television shows) this is typically portrayed the opposite way, where the male character is pushing the female into those actions. I feel refreshed to know Meyer chose to switch things up a bit here. On the other hand, I think that Bella's transition from ordinary to extraordinary displays a great insight into the inadequacies we all sometimes feel. There will always be someone better and if we learn from them, we can be better.
No matter how you feel about the series, you should read it. Then when you are the one bashing the series, I will take your opinions seriously too. As a writer, I read it because even though people hate these books, they sold. So, Meyer has to have done something right. If I can make my writing represent the characters and dreams of an ordinary girl living in a crazy world as well as she has, I may do something right after all.
