Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I wasn't going to review the novel at all because I simply hated it too much and, well, why spend more time dwelling on it than necessary? But the amount of people who claim her writing is flawless, the story is original and perfect, and the book appeals to all ages just drove me crazy. No, her writing is not flawless. In fact, it's very juvenile for someone who has had as much schooling as Stephenie Meyer. The story itself is completely predictable from the drab and ridiculous Preface, to the very last sentence. And the overall plot of the series? Well, I'm not actually sure there is one. Don't get me wrong. I understand why this book appeals to young readers. It has every girl's fantasy, doesn't it? A handsome boy falling madly in love with the supposedly plain new girl. The story is so simplistic and so centered on this love story that, frankly, it can become addicting whether you like what you are reading or not (and I will freely admit to reading it in about six hours). I would not shy away from giving this book to preteen friends of mine. However, I think the bias has to end somewhere. This book makes Harry Potter a literary masterpiece. This book makes Anne Rice's novels appear well-constructed. This book does not do anything new for the genre--which is not wrong. No one needs to set out and create a new precedent. No one is under that obligation. That doesn't negate the fact that the entire story was very tired. I had no interest in Bella's questions. I had no interest in the long blocks of explanations. There is a good reason Jo Rowling left most of her explanations scattered through seven books of varying length, and not all at once in every chapter. For someone who is hanging on the fence, boring descriptions and Q&A sessions are a killer. Additionally, and perhaps the real reason I disliked the book, Bella Swan made for one of the worst protagonists I've ever read. Reading Meyer's website, I was amazed that someone who loves her characters so dearly manages to create such lifeless, flat personifications of them on paper. Bella is your typical self-insert of the author. She shares the author's hometown. She has a beautiful name--Isabella Swan! She's so clumsy that you figure she probably has an inner ear problem. She's constantly miserable, irritatingly oblivious to the world she's describing to us, and overdramatic. And none of these are endearing traits. Handled differently, they could be. Handled differently, they would be. Third person would have been preferable, rather than first. In a romance story where the author is not quite sophisticated enough to actually provide realism instead of fanfiction, first person kills the narrative. One moment, Bella is weeping over how horrible her life is. The next moment, she's discussing how unattractive she is while rebuffing three invitations to the dance in one day--after having no relationships at home. These are not endearing. These are the hopes and wishes of very young teenage girls, and perhaps a few older ones. But it makes for a very ridiculous read through. Personally, I believe Meyer should have worked on reading a bit more structured works before sitting down. She ought to have researched fiction writing and the dynamics of creating a proper heroine, because she has managed to make someone that is very unrealistic to the point of frustration. You see, it's frustrating because I know Meyer is trying to make Bella realistic instead of perfect. What girl doesn't think she's ugly sometimes? What girl doesn't stumble gracelessly over her own feet? The only difference is, in a novel, these traits are the superficial flaws of a Mary Sue. Simply, they aren't flaws at all. They are excuses to make Bella "less perfect" while achieving the exact opposite. Had Bella been genuinely shy (she so wasn't shy!), genuinely unhappy, genuinely boring, it might have been less irritating. But she was clearly outgoing. She was clearly beautiful. She stumbled into horrible situations only to be saved by a gaggle of boys. And all the while, she remained oblivious to all of it. That isn't a flaw--that's convenience. And it's very immature writing. I also think all of the Prefaces should have been removed. Upon reading Twilight's, I burst out laughing. Coming forward to kill her, eh? The writing couldn't handle the suspense or drama the author was attempting to create--it left no room for either. This is where first person kills the narrative completely. This preface then set the tone for the entire book, and I laughed similarly at about half of the descriptions she used. There is no need to reiterate that Edward is perfect. If you trust your reader, you should trust them to remember that Edward is, apparently, a Greek god or adonis with an angel's face and runway model physique with black eyes sometimes, topaz eyes sometimes, ocher eyes sometimes, and golden hair, and that he drives fast, has a lot of money, is a musical savant, sparkles in the sun, dresses impeccably, etc., etc. You only need to say someone is perfect a couple of times over the course of the novel for anyone to understand. All the overdesigning of Edward's appearance ended up feeling like was the author relishing in this personal fantasy. And that's great. We all have personal fantasies! But this book doesn't quite deserve the enormous praise it's receiving from all corners. Dissect the writing. Look at the ridiculous romance novelesque style of it all. Don't tell me writing doesn't matter when it's Young Adult. The YA genre is expanding. Teenagers are writing exquisite pieces of literature and not publishing them anywhere. There is no excuse for poor writing. If I wanted to read a romance novel, I would have picked one up. At least romance novels have plot. Meyer all-too-frequently used 'scowling' and 'glaring' as the only method of communication between people. And Edward's behavior was indecisive to the point insanity. His constant 'please go away I can't love you I'll kill you but don't go away I love you please go away' would drive any sane human being into a psychological tailspin. If you made the movie exactly how she wrote the book, Bella and Edward would be consistently scowling at one another and arguing over everything. And there would be no plot until the last fifteen minutes. Because, frankly, there was no plot. After the lust between Edward and Bella was reconciled, my interest left completely. After the relationship became whole, I was done. Everything else Meyer threw in seemed very, very half-hearted. And that's a shame, because I know she dedicated as many years into her characters. I only wish her results were better. May your writing improve in the future, Stephenie Meyer. You have serious potential, but you probably jumped on writing and publishing these novels too soon. You definitely needed more time in Washington, as well.