At the top of my "to read later" pile...


I am not currently reviewing a book/author or even reading Christian fiction at the moment. It is an interesting break from the normal and I am enjoying selecting the titles right now. Since I rarely read in the secular market it is often difficult for me to find authors that are enjoyable or to my tastes. In May or perhaps early of this year I was lent a copy of Twilight by Stephanie Meyers. Wait! Hold on! If you are completely rolling your eyes at this point and believe that I have joined the teen band wagon let me get just a few words in edgewise here. Thank you.

As I was saying, I was lent a copy of Twilight a while back. I had no real desire to read it because, as you, I had no desire to join the throng of teens and even pre-teens obsessing over this book/saga. The copy I had received was at the top of my "to read later" pile, so I picked it up and turned to page one.

Please understand that I am not a fan of Vampires or even that sort of thriller market. I enjoy a good suspense and well written plot but this type of blood and gore is just usually not my style. While reading book one I started to see some common themes that really started to hit me. One, our search for purpose and perhaps even an understanding of immortality. It is subtle but present in the read. Second our desire to have unconditional love. Although the author points it out in the teen years it is clearly present in the adult characters as well. The writing and banter in these books....wait! These books? Yes, I am one week in and already finished with book three planning to finish book four over the weekend.

Now, as I was saying once again, the writing and character dialogue in these books helps you to dream, envision, and escape in to a mythical world. With that said it is important that we understand that concepts are mythical. It has been a fun week and I am truly impressed with Ms. Meyers ability to capture emotion, envoke emotion, and drain emotion with her written talent.

Just a note: for the most part I have found these written works to be clean, a little gory at times but overall written to address the audience it seeks (late teens) in a more appropriate manner than some. Interestingly I don't feel that teens should read book four. I am only a few chapters in but the content is definitely more than they are prepared for. As always, I recommend parents read any materials before they offer it to their children.

Comments

Vanessa said…
glad to see you've enjoyed branching out!
Sarah Schenkel said…
I, too, found myself plowing through this series and was a little embarrassed to admit it. It definitely has common themes as you mentioned that are great to talk about with the pre-teen/teens who are reading it. I was a little concerned, however, with the obsessiveness of the love (the "I'd do ANYTHING for him" syndrome that we don't want teenage girls to fall prey to). Overall, a fun read.
Brigitte said…
I agree Sarah. It was very obsessive and that is why I can see the pre-teen/teen market falling for it so hard. This all or die mentality. Meyers captured it completely. Partly why I debated about writing the review at all was based on this over powering theme. But if those of us who have these thoughts say nothing than...who will. Thanks for your comments.

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