"Breaking Dawn" by Stephenie Meyer

Sigh. Merry Christmas to me. I finally finished the fourth and final book of the Twilight Series, all 754 pages of it. Now I can move on with my life! And I decided I'm not necessarily going to provide a full synopsis because I just couldn't do it justice. I loved the first book, Twilight, but was getting pretty annoyed, and even bored, with the next two. This final installment brought back the delight that I felt when I picked up the first book. No, the writing really didn't reach a higher literary level, and yes the story line was insane. But it worked, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

I must add a few words for the parents (and I don't think I'm spoiling too much here, unless you live in a cave). Bella and Edward get married and have a baby. There is some sex in this book, with shredded feather pillows, damaged beds and all that comes with it. No, Meyer does not describe the physical, nitty-gritty detail of the acts themselves, but the average 11 year old will know what is going on. It is your choice as to whether you want your kids taking notes.

Now I am off to prepare for our Christmas Eve celebration, our American/Polish wigilia. Peace on earth to all men, vampires and werewolves.

"Eclipse" by Stephenie Meyer

Yes, I know its Thanksgiving and I should be slaving over the stove (never fear, the bird is in the oven). However, I just finished Eclipse this morning and wanted to share my thoughts.

I can sum up the third book in the Twilight series in a nice short paragraph. I hope I don't give away too much, but I do like to give a head's up to the parents out there that have pre-pubescents wanting to read the book. Edward and Bella still sustain their pledge of undying love for each other. Edward wants to marry Bella, but Bella has baggage from her parents' broken marriage. Bella wants desperately to become one of the undead, but wants to lose her virginity prior to the transition. There's lot of negotiation back and forth regarding these three points. Virtues are ultimately intact at the end of the book, but it's a close call with partial disrobing and entwined limbs. Rogue vampires still want to kill Bella, and a significant portion of the book is dedicated to fearing, avoiding, luring, trapping and killing them. Things heat up a bit with the love triangle between Edward, Bella and Jacob, just to make things a little interesting.

I am committed to finishing the series at this point...it is the obsessive/compulsive in me. I have to finish what I start. However, it all is starting to get on my nerves a bit. My expectations are really not all that high, but the plot development is really ridiculous. (I know...what do I want from a teenage book about vampires and werewolves?) On a positive note, Edward is still quite the dude. I'm not tired of him yet. Now, I need to take a break from Ms. Meyer for a book or two. A nice little book about Julia Childs perhaps...

"New Moon" by Stephenie Meyer

The hook has been set in my subconcious, officially. I must see this through to the end! In this second installment of the Twilight series, we find that Edward and his vampire family has left town, primarily to protect Bella from the dangers of hangin' with bloodsuckers. He has explained his departure to Bella, however, as a good, old-fashioned break-up, and tells her "it will be as if I have never existed". OK, we have all been there, and we know the angst and heartbreak that you go through when your one true love denies you. You feel her pain. Bella goes catatonic for awhile, then is brought back to the land of the living (ha) by her childhood friend Jacob, who is in love with Bella, is quite attractive, and who just happens to be a, uh, werewolf and the numero uno enemy of vampires? Puleeeeease. I just shake my head at the idiocy of it all. To make a long story (to the tune of about 560 pages) short, Edward and Bella meet up in Italy in the presence of the vampire grand poo-bahs, and in order to ensure to them that the vampire secret is safe with Bella, promises to turn her into the walking dead in the near future. They are officially reunited, and promise to never leave each other again.

Again, the story is fairly innocent, with teenage hormones boiling below the surface.
The intensity is still there, with Bella riding motorcycles, cliff-diving and talking to strange men in dark alleys to rebel against Edward's abandonment. Edward tries to commit vampire suicide when he thinks Bella has died from a cliff-diving escapade. I feel that the story line also took a fairly ridiculous turn with the werewolf rival, but what do you want from a book geared towards adolescents? I still read it, didn't I? I was quite entertained actually and look forward to the little treat of the third installment...

"Twilight" by Stephanie Meyer

OK, I'm going to lay all my cards on the table here. This book is not what one would call "literature". It is a guilty pleasure, mind candy, and every pubescent girl's dream (yes I was one of those once upon a time!). So sue me! I had heard so much hype on this series of books (I think there are four in total) that I simply felt left out of the fray, and I also suspected that my daughter would be asking to read it soon and I needed to put my seal of approval or disapproval on it.

To me, this is basically a Harry Potter meets Anne Rice that is dripping with romance and hormones. A teenage girl, Bella, moves to the Pacific Northwest to live with her father, after her mother remarries and starts to travel with the new hubby. At her new school, she immediately hits it off with the devestatingly handsome, well-muscled, mysterious Edward Cullen. Who just happens to be a vampire. He's a vampire with a conscience, though, who feeds on animals and lives with his vampire family on the outskirts of town. He and Bella fall madly in love, despite his fear of accidently hurting her with his brute strength or giving into his basic instinct and sucking her blood. Edward saves Bella's life several times...he is fiercly protective of her. (OK ladies, is there anyone out there that didn't fantasize about a creature such as this??? Be honest!) There is alot of dialogue about Edward's habits and lifestyle, his history, and whether or not Bella should be "converted" so they can be together forever. Their physical relationship is quite chaste (I hear this is not the case in later books!) but intense.

This book is about 500 pages, but I read it in...two days? Three days? I was completely sucked into it, pardon the pun. It is an incredibly easy read, and I fear I must read the series now. I have no choice. It will be a nice break in between the heavier stuff I have on my short list. Interestingly, the movie premiers on November 21st, and am intrigued with the choice of Robert Pattinson (our beloved and doomed Cedric in Harry Potter) for the role of Edward. Is it a good thing I knew the face assigned to the role before I read the book? I'm not sure. Apparently the teeny boppers were not pleased with that choice, but in my mind's eye, it works. As for my seal of approval for the book? I whole-heartedly approve as long as you're not looking for Shakespeare, but not for my fifth grader!

Update: Lately it seems that this series of books have taken my daughter's class by storm. It has become the "in" thing to read. Because of this, I thought it might better clarify why exactly I don't think this books is appropriate for a fifth grader so all the parents out there can make a well-informed decision without reading the book. I am not worried about the occult and the risk that my daughter might join a vampire clan. My main concern is over the sexuality and intensity of the relationship between Edward and Bella. They continually claim they would die without each other, they are the only thing that matters in each other's lives, and Bella wants to become a member of the undead to be with Edward forever. Edward regularly stays the night in Bella's bed (he doesn't sleep however, he just watches her) because she can't stand to be away from him. Comments are made by Bella "which is tempting you more...my blood or my body?". There are suggestive comments about whether vampires can have sex. So I guess even there is no sex between the characters (yet), this type of relationship is not one I want my daughter to think is healthy. There is plenty of time later for all that to run amuck!