This past summer I read “Twilight” by Stephanie Meyer for the first time, and I couldn’t put it down. I can see why so many teen girls have fallen in love with the series. It’s a fast paced plot with mystery, romance, and danger that features an intriguing and original vampire culture and one super cute vampire who falls in love with a human and they defy everything to be with each other. Of course everyone is obsessed. And honestly, while I was reading it I was too.
But as I was reading it, there were negative things I could not ignore. I thought the writing was horrible. Bella never “says” anything. She exclaims yells, states, and replies. Those words only bring attention to themselves and bog down the reader. Many of the descriptions are boring and cliché. Also, the main character, Bella, is flat. After reading the entire book this is what I can tell you about Bella: She is a high school girl who reluctantly just moved to a new town to live with her dad. She is an introvert. She is lonely and cynical. She loves to read. And she is obsessed with Edward Cullen.
I was also appalled at Bella’s obsession with Edward from the very beginning. He becomes her life. Her very existence. She hardly knows anything about this guy and she falls in love with him. She goes behind her dad’s back to spend time with him. And whether or not he turned out to be an amazing guy or a jerk, Edward becomes Bella’s idol.
So why did I finish reading the book? I think what happened is that Stephanie Meyer had a brilliant idea. A girl and vampire fall in love but he thirsts for her blood? Pure genius. I think she had images in her head, but when she tried to put those pictures into words, it failed. But for me as the reader, though I stumbled over the words, I could see the author’s intent, and that’s what kept me going. And like every other girl obsessed with Twilight, I kept reading because I loved the fairytale happy ending.
This has been said before, but I’m going to say it again. Edward is the guy that every girl dreams of. He chooses Bella- the new, shy girl- out of all of the other girls at school He loves her, saves her twice, tells her she’s beautiful, makes her feel special, and has this tantalizing, mysterious air. He has the strength to crush her and the overwhelming desire to drink her blood, but he does neither. What a guy. Oh, and did I mention that he’s super attractive?
Every girl, including me, dreams of a Prince Charming to carry her off to his castle and live happily ever after. But unlike most people, I’m here to tell you that it is possible to have a fairytale life in this world.
Like Bella, we are all nobodies. We are invisible and unworthy of attention because of our sin. But Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the most amazing guy in the world, noticed us and loved us. He loved us so much He died for our sins. “Not because of the righteous things we’ve done, but because of His mercy” (Titus 3:5). If we confess our sins and believe in Him and give our life to Him, we will have eternal life.
Someday, when I die, I will join my savior in Heaven for eternity. And we will live happily ever after.
