Book Review: Twilight

Category: Books
Genre: Romance
Author: Stephenie Meyer

Image Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10103471@N08/838281501/

First and foremost, I do not hate Twilight in any way., in fact I really enjoyed it! It is indeed a page-turner, no doubt about it, but as a plot-driven reader, I felt that this book lacks on that department. Well, maybe I don't hate it but there are certain parts of the department I definitely dislike.

And, I would not this review with an overview or summary of the plot. I had a nagging feeling that the readers (or reader, haha) would have already read the whole series, anyway.


The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer has exceptionally piqued the interest of millions of readers around the world. In May, Publisher's Weekly reported that 5.3 million copies of Twilight books have been sold in the U.S alone. The media had immediately deemed it as the next Harry Potter and Meyer the next J.K Rowling.

Hell, no!

Harry Potter is definitely milestone's ahead from Twilight in terms of cultural impact. You need proof? Well, the fact that Twilight has a fan-base made up of exclusively female populace.

Okay, I may be biased. (I'm an avid Harry Potter fan. Sorry!) That is why I'm willing to give a review about Twilight to prove my point in this matter.

Twilight, as I've written above, is indeed a page-turner. But, not because of its compelling plot. No, not at all. It is actually a character-driven book. I am willing to bet that half of the Twilight-reading populace read it due to the cogent superficial splendors of Edward Cullen.

No, I personally don't think that's the bad part. It was impressive that Meyer would be able to give life and magic to a fictional character by her excessive use of adjectives and adverbs.

Well, actually, that's the bad part, too. Edward's splendor overshadows most of the characters. Even Bella, herself.

Most would probably argue: Bella is the driving force of Edward. Hello, the book is written in Bella's point of view? How can she be overshadowed?

True. Yet, I can't help but feel that Bella is just a place-holder character. A hollow mold wherein the readers could fit themselves in to bask in Edward's endearing charms and advances. I could almost see no depth in Bella's character. Almost.

It was certainly Meyer's way to portray Bella's fascination and adoration for Edward. On how she would accidentally forget to breathe when his face was near him or how she would babble on Edward's marble-like skin. It was good while it lasted, but as the cycle droned on, I was certainly annoyed. I was like: Okay, he's hot. Do you need to relinquish the list of adjectives you have used on the last page?

Let's move along, shall we? I certainly do not want to bash all of Twilight's characters. But I do admit, they are certainly lovable at some degree. The problem is, they are too damn predictable.

Predictable. Yes, the plot is actually predictable. If the plot wasn't written with Meyer's technique, it would actually not shine among the Gothic, vampire-romance genre.

As I have indicated earlier, I am a plot-driven reader. The plot is not only predictable but also lack depth. It keeps on dwelling on Bella's unwavering obsession and passion for Edward that the story seems to have no other goal but to adore Edward.

And who in here has ever heard of organic unity? It seems Twilight lacks in this department.

It has bothered me that Bella was impregnated by Edward in Breaking Dawn. Hello, I thought it was stated that vampires lose all body fluids and changed into venom once they were transformed. Uh-oh, I smell a plot-hole. There's a lot of plot-holes scattered actually. Just sniff around.

. . .


Okay, enough with the bashing.

And hey, I gave it 3-stars!

I may not have unrequited love for Twilight as much as I have for Harry Potter. Nevertheless, it does hold magic that was able to capture hearts of millions of readers worldwide.

Its flaws were veiled by the captivating way the prose was written. And I praise Meyer for that.

It just felt that this series is overrated. Way too overrated.

Nevertheless, it's still a good piece of work. Good in its own way.


One thing's for sure: Meyer is certainly no Rowling.

I would like to emphasize this to those annoying Twilight-ers who kept on declaring that Harry Potter has met its match or that Twilight has surpassed Rowling's epic.


Don't worry, mates. I still have the fan-girlsism in me. I do have fetish for Edward and Jacob; the latter having a stronger effect on me. I'm not that immune to their charms. Haha.