I’ve become a Twilight fan. The series of four books by new author Stephenie Meyer, conclude with the release of book four: Breaking Dawn, which came out at midnight. A line of fans rivaling Harry Potter’s reign of bibliophilic wonderment, queued up at bookstores nationwide to snap up the book the moment it became legal to sell. I chose the pre-order and mail path, figuring it was not my place at my age to lurk in large book retail stores late on a Friday night with over-hyped up young folks and their parents. I am neither a parent nor a young folk. I also don’t like the idea of having to dodge the “spoilsports” who haunt book release parties and try to ruin the surprise for the fans.
The books, originally geared to a young adult audience but accepted by all ages, takes place in present day Washington where Isabella has moved to live with her divorced father. Bella, as she prefers to be called, manages to fit in at the local high school but is rather self conscious because she is inept at sports and prone to accidents and awkwardness at all times. One day she encounters a strange boy and his adopted family, and after some uncomfortable moments they find that they are all wrong and yet right for each other: he turns out to be a 100-year-old vampire, and his desire for Bella’s humanity battles with his omnipresent bloodlust.
I wish more stories were written with such age barrier crossing style. There are online groups for teens, adults and even men devoted to the stories (Twilight is the first, followed by New Moon and Eclipse). A movie version of Twilight is due December 12. The excitement of a good book is a balm for the spirit, and if the movie is anywhere near as interesting as these stories, I’ll officially declare that the entertainment industry is back in full swing.
Susan's Scribblings the Blog 