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texchanMy last overly tardy "book report" for today. This one is less tardy than the others, as I just finished this book yesterday.
Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer
Book Read: June 2007
About three things I was absolutely positive.
First, Edward was a vampire.
Second, there was a part of him -- and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be -- that thirsted for my blood.
And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.
~Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer
I can’t think of any passage that sums up “Twilight” better than the one quoted above. Part vampire love story, part page-turning suspense/thriller, I found this novel to be a fun and delightful read -- although, in all honesty, I came to the end of it and closed the back cover wondering what, exactly, it was about this book that had me devouring pages like some rabid badger on a bender. To give you some idea, the book is 498 pages. I read it in two days. I, literally, could not put the darn thing down. The story and characters drew me in that much, even though, looking back on it, I don’t know why.
Basically, the story is about Bella, a shy, socially awkward teenager forced into moving back to a town that she hates to live with her father, whom she loves but barely knows. Bella quickly falls in love with a boy in her class … only to discover he’s not a boy at all … and, perhaps, he’s not even human. At first, she puts her feelings off to an odd fascination with the boy’s behavior. Then, she tells herself it is just a passing infatuation. But Bella quickly has to come to grips with the fact that she is trapped in that most mournful state -- love-struck teenager. Luckily for her (or, unluckily, perhaps, depending on how you look at it), the object of Bella’s affection eventually realizes he feels the same way about her. He becomes rather her “protector/guard dog/guardian angel”, which is a good thing, since Bella seems to have a knack for getting into trouble. The life-threatening kind of trouble. And by the end of the book, I was left feeling like this was one of those romances that, perhaps, could last through the ages. Or, hoping it would, at any rate.
In the midst of the suspense, drama, and action of this book, Ms. Meyer manages to paint a very realistic picture of teenage love -- the awkwardness of it … the butterflies in the stomach when you wonder if “he” likes you or not … just the whole painful, poignant process of falling madly in love and being willing to risk every bit of your heart as only someone in their teens could do. When you’re a teenager, no matter how mature you are, life seems like a set of extremes -- black and white, do or die. And I felt like Ms. Meyer captured that perfectly.
I found Bella to be a rather irritating character in many respects. She is, literally, always in trouble and seems incapable of doing even the simplest things without causing some kind of bodily harm to herself. Her saving grace, though, is that she is not one of those shrinking-violet, damsel-in-distress girls who gets into trouble and then sits around waiting for the hero to save her. In spite of everything, Bella is a strong and self-sufficient person, which, to me, can make up for a lot of other character flaws. And, I really liked the way she was very determined, once she had made up her mind about things. She doesn’t hesitate, but jumps right in to try and grab what she wants -- even if it means she might suffer bodily harm, in the process.
I liked Edward and his family quite a lot. I love their attitudes toward family and life, in general. Once you’ve been around for a few hundred years, it makes sense that you would have a bit of a different perspective on the world. I also like how they almost immediately “adopted” Bella as one of the family -- kind of like she is their household pet or something. That sounds negative, but I don’t mean it that way. Really, my guess is that vampires might look at the rest of us that way. After all, we started out as a food source.
In all, a wonderful book, and one I will definitely keep stored on my bookshelves. Like I said earlier, I can’t figure out exactly why this book drew me in and fascinated me so. But, once I read it, I had to run off and order the second and third books in this series … so perhaps I’ll figure it out while I’m devouring them. ^.~
Book Read: June 2007
About three things I was absolutely positive.
First, Edward was a vampire.
Second, there was a part of him -- and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be -- that thirsted for my blood.
And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.
~Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer
I can’t think of any passage that sums up “Twilight” better than the one quoted above. Part vampire love story, part page-turning suspense/thriller, I found this novel to be a fun and delightful read -- although, in all honesty, I came to the end of it and closed the back cover wondering what, exactly, it was about this book that had me devouring pages like some rabid badger on a bender. To give you some idea, the book is 498 pages. I read it in two days. I, literally, could not put the darn thing down. The story and characters drew me in that much, even though, looking back on it, I don’t know why.
Basically, the story is about Bella, a shy, socially awkward teenager forced into moving back to a town that she hates to live with her father, whom she loves but barely knows. Bella quickly falls in love with a boy in her class … only to discover he’s not a boy at all … and, perhaps, he’s not even human. At first, she puts her feelings off to an odd fascination with the boy’s behavior. Then, she tells herself it is just a passing infatuation. But Bella quickly has to come to grips with the fact that she is trapped in that most mournful state -- love-struck teenager. Luckily for her (or, unluckily, perhaps, depending on how you look at it), the object of Bella’s affection eventually realizes he feels the same way about her. He becomes rather her “protector/guard dog/guardian angel”, which is a good thing, since Bella seems to have a knack for getting into trouble. The life-threatening kind of trouble. And by the end of the book, I was left feeling like this was one of those romances that, perhaps, could last through the ages. Or, hoping it would, at any rate.
In the midst of the suspense, drama, and action of this book, Ms. Meyer manages to paint a very realistic picture of teenage love -- the awkwardness of it … the butterflies in the stomach when you wonder if “he” likes you or not … just the whole painful, poignant process of falling madly in love and being willing to risk every bit of your heart as only someone in their teens could do. When you’re a teenager, no matter how mature you are, life seems like a set of extremes -- black and white, do or die. And I felt like Ms. Meyer captured that perfectly.
I found Bella to be a rather irritating character in many respects. She is, literally, always in trouble and seems incapable of doing even the simplest things without causing some kind of bodily harm to herself. Her saving grace, though, is that she is not one of those shrinking-violet, damsel-in-distress girls who gets into trouble and then sits around waiting for the hero to save her. In spite of everything, Bella is a strong and self-sufficient person, which, to me, can make up for a lot of other character flaws. And, I really liked the way she was very determined, once she had made up her mind about things. She doesn’t hesitate, but jumps right in to try and grab what she wants -- even if it means she might suffer bodily harm, in the process.
I liked Edward and his family quite a lot. I love their attitudes toward family and life, in general. Once you’ve been around for a few hundred years, it makes sense that you would have a bit of a different perspective on the world. I also like how they almost immediately “adopted” Bella as one of the family -- kind of like she is their household pet or something. That sounds negative, but I don’t mean it that way. Really, my guess is that vampires might look at the rest of us that way. After all, we started out as a food source.
In all, a wonderful book, and one I will definitely keep stored on my bookshelves. Like I said earlier, I can’t figure out exactly why this book drew me in and fascinated me so. But, once I read it, I had to run off and order the second and third books in this series … so perhaps I’ll figure it out while I’m devouring them. ^.~
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(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-22 04:20 pm (UTC)Oh! Speaking of books... A friend of mine just showed me the coolest site that I joined. Have you heard of it?
http://www.goodreads.com/
Kinda like a myspace for book readers. Post reviews and rate books and see what your friends have read and liked. ^_^ I thought it was pretty neat. At the very least, it's a good way to keep track of what I've read. I started but don't have much yet, I'm bulleta on there so maybe I'll see you around!
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-23 10:17 pm (UTC)Oooh! I'm gonna have to check out that "good reads" site. Sounds like a place I may want to join. Thanks so much for passing the link along. And, thanks for reading these silly reviews. They are a bit ridiculous, but I like them as a way for myself to keep track of stuff I've read and liked. Usually, if I hate a book, I won't even finish it, so it won't ever get any kind of review. Life's too short to read a book that isn't fun. LOL
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-25 01:31 pm (UTC)I always read your reviews. I think because I used to work in a bookstore for years that I read book reviews if I stumble across them. Because customers were never interested in the stuff I read, if I could "steal" other peoples reviews and tell them "So and so liked this" then I didn't feel as useless. So I guess I'm still doing that. ^_^"
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-25 01:35 pm (UTC)I MEANT to also say that I hope you join Good Reads, I think it's pretty neat. My list right now is all manga and crap but I'm still adding. ^_^"