My thoughts on the book "Twilight"

Well, I had high hopes for this book since it was recommended very enthusiastically by a couple of friends. Let me say that the first 300 pages or so were drivel. Very uninteresting and very poorly written. The author provides WAY too much detail about Bella's day to day activities (get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, wash dishes, drive to school blah, blah, blah) over and over again. I had absolutely NO problem putting this book down and going to bed every night for the past week and a half. For a quick read (and this is one, the type is big and spaced out easily) it sure took me a long time to plow through it. My review gets a 1 for the first 300 pages. I had no intention of reading the rest of this series at this point.

The second 2oo pages actually got interesting. The storyline, such as it was, finally picked up and there even was a bit of action thrown in. Meeting Edward's family and hearing their backstories was fun. Watching the baseball game was fun. The confrontation with the villian was exciting, albeit resolved quickly.The last 200 pages were more captivating. I read them all yesterday. So, that half of the book gets a 3 (I liked it).

The characters weren't that compelling (except maybe Alice but so far her role has been minimal) and we don't learn much about them. Edward is beautiful. That's about it. Bella has nothing else to say about him. His treatment of her would set of warning bells in any self-respecting young woman's brain, but since he's a vampire, I guess it's excusable for him to control her and stalk her. Bella is shallow (she falls madly for Edward based solely on his looks) and bereft of personality. Much of the first 300 pages of the book center around her cleaning up after, and waiting on her father. The last 200 are filled with sap about her obsession with Edward and her need for him to be with her every minute of her life. Her knight in shining armour. Bella is NOT a strong female. If my daughter, as a teen, models her own relationships with boys after Bella's, I will have failed in raising her to be an independent, free thinking, young woman with a sense of self-worth.

So... to average, 2 stars. Will I read on... probably. I think I can give New Moon a chance, anyway. My friend has already loaned me the rest of the series, so it's not going to cost me a cent. Perhaps we'll see some growth in the characters as they continue their relationship. Maybe they'll develop some hobbies. Maybe the villian will resurface. Maybe I need something else to lull me to sleep at night!