Readers Sink Their Teeth into New Novel Series
Noelle Kalipetis
Issue date: 9/29/08 Section: Entertainment
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"I think [TWILIGHT] is a well-written book that grabs the interest of adults by using fantasy and intrigues young readers," said Seton Hall communications student Amber DiCostanzo. "I loved it. Definitely another kind of HARRY POTTER."
Reviewers have been throwing gold and roses at Meyer, hailing her as America's J.K. Rowling. Meyer is nowhere near wrecking Rowling's record of 110 million copies of the famous Potter books, but with skyrocketing sales and a movie due to grace the silver screen in November, the dream cannot be cast aside.
Websites sprouted like daisies in the wake of the series' success; fan pages on Facebook and MySpace sport creative bumper stickers with colorful slogans: "Waiting for my Edward Cullen," the male protagonist of the first book, and, "You're just jealous because your vampires don't sparkle," an innovative twist on vampire lore of which Meyer is the proud parent.
But not all peasants are eager to be subject to the genre empress. Like the Dark Side of Lucas' Force, there are those ready to stand their ground against what they consider a literary wreck, slowing filching brain cells from unsuspecting victims.
Ramapo College literary major Jennifer Brune is not as impressed by the mighty Meyer's words. "The writing is sloppy, the plot line is weak, and the characters are flat. [The book] is the 'fast food' of the literary world. I still enjoy reading it; it's so bad that it's good."
Brune is not alone in her thinking. Websites like www.twilightsucks.com roared to life to tip the popularity scale back even. Their slogan? "Love it or hate it, but don't be afraid or ashamed to debate it!" Despite its cheeky name, the site offers lovers and haters alike a forum to voice their views. Writers make conjectures about upcoming editions, critique past volumes, and engage in the everlasting battle of 'Who is hotter: Edward or Jacob (the two main male characters).'
"Why is Stephenie Meyer a writer for any other reason than to make a few easy million off fulfilling the fantasies of teenage girls?" An unknown webmaster asked in a blog. Yet the overlords of the site are unashamed to admit that they are 'Twilighters' - fans of the series who are open to debate on the subject of Meyer's books. The site provides a pungent antitoxin to the poison of excessive fandom, poking laughable jabs at the plot and those involved.
As fans slap their profiles with bumper stickers galore, anti-fans pepper their pages with sarcastic icons and banners: "Bella Swan: Setting feminism back another 100 years," "Breaking Dawn Spoilers: Snape kills Edward," and, "Buffy should just slay Edward already."
Common Sense Media reviewer Matt Berman stood in the middle ground with his initial evaluation of the novel, comparing it to times before J.K. Rowling shot page limits out the window. "…No publisher in their right mind would have allowed this book to be 500 pages. It would have been cut down substantially, and it would have been a better story for it." He later went on to praise the book as being very readable and 'good fun.'
Lovers and haters face off continually, hurling spears of admiration and arrows of critique in an endless brawl. Who is right and wrong doesn't matter; Meyer's name is still on everyone's tongue.
Viewing Comments 1 - 6 of 6
Amber D.
posted 9/29/08 @ 10:35 PM EST
Despite whether or not the book was written well or was a tad sloppy, people read for enjoyment. This isn't supposed to be some educational journal. It is a feel good story for a huge audience and it was never supposed to be more. (Continued…)
sharon barrett
posted 10/10/08 @ 10:13 PM EST
I KNOW HOW HARD THIS ARTICLE WAS FOR YOU TO WRITE NOELLE, BUT GOOD JOB!!!! I STILL THINK YOUR BOOK IS BETTER. I DID READ TWILIGHT AND FELT IT WAS FLUFF AND NO SUBSTANCE. (Continued…)
ZaxfromTSdC
posted 10/12/08 @ 11:26 PM EST
Err..thanks for the publicity? XD
However, there are no "Who is hotter: Edward or Jacob" discussions on our site.
By and large, all discussions of the series are decidedly of a negative fashion, typically going to whatever lengths are needed to quite thoroughly nit-pick. (Continued…)
AgentCactuar(ofTwilightSucks)
posted 10/13/08 @ 6:35 PM EST
...that's nice, but...er...
there are no 'who's hotter, Edward or Jacob' threads on the site.
...on second thought, look at Zax's post. He can explain it a lot better than I can. (Continued…)
Smut(ofTwilightSucks)
posted 10/14/08 @ 5:32 AM EST
Hey thanks for the space in your article. But... Ehh... About the "Who is hotter: Jacob or Edward"... well we haven't thant (thanks God) Still. Thanks for yout comment about the site. (Continued…)
Noelle K.
posted 10/16/08 @ 10:07 PM EST
"HAHAHA?.no. That?s not our mission, nor is our mission or purpose for making this site centered around being a hate shrine or place where soulless beasts of society gather in hopes of attacking poor and innocent Twilight fangirls. (Continued…)
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