Twilight

[Annikaya]

I haven't read the sequels yet, only Twilight itself but I don't see how the author has "reinvented" vampires. The idea of them being non-blood-sucking-fiends has been around for at least the last 10 years or so. Look at Angel or The Black Dagger Brotherhood (SO SEXY!!!) or the series about the Carpathians or the one by Lyndsay Sands. The sparkling thing was new but I think I've read about much more interesting vampires. I read one the other day where they were vampires because they were from Atlantis and had nanotechnology that required more blood to work. It made them immortal only because our skin is constantly being damaged by the sun and the nanotechnology was constantly working to repair that. The vampires couldn't go in the sun because it made the nanotechnology have to work harder, which meant they needed more blood.  

[Craptasmic]

I just finished Twilight a few days ago. I thought it was enjoyable, although I had a bit of trouble getting into it to start. It seemed to move very, very slowly to me. It went something like this:

"Why is everyone making such a hype about this book? It's so boring."

[several chapters later]

"Hmm. One more page, then I'll stop reading for the night.", "Just one more chapter. That last chapter left me on such a cliffhanger." "One more paragraph." (etc.)

[Nearing the end of the book]

"Must. Keep. Reading. stressed "

Near the end, it got to the point that I was late for one of my classes because I lost track of time while I was reading. It became somewhat addictive. Not a difficult read, no. But enjoyable. Although, one thing that annoyed me a bit, was the fan-fic-ish feel it had at points. (My friend described it like that, and the more I thought about it, the more sense it made) Maybe that was just me, though.

The ending was a bit disappointing though. But I suppose that's what sequels are for.  

[Annikaya]

I thought it was like a soap opera with vampires involved. And yes, it felt like fanfiction.  

[Lyonette]

It was... okay. I enjoyed the story line, but was constantly disappointed in the main characters. I thought the other important characters wee just fine, but honestly... Edward?Total idiot. (Carlisle Cullen rocks my socks, and Alice can bite me!)  

[DarkElf27]

I haven't read it myself, but everything I've heard from people who have leads me to believe that it's not a bad book, but not worthy of the hype it's gotten.  

[Sintreri]

I'm not a fan of Twilight, and especially not of Edward Cullen. But, I am not a hater either. The book that I read, the first one, was okay. Simple as that. I can tell that preteens, and even some teenagers can easily relate to the angsty, whiny, lovestruck girl that is Bella Swan. And how many will go berserk over the immortal, perfection that is Edward Cullen. Also the idea of forbidden love seems to get much attention, as well as vampires, it seems, among teenage girls. Especially the ones who fall into the so called 'emo' clique. I can't criticize too harshly, for I only read the first book. (I couldn't bring myself to read through Bella's whining just to know the rest of the story)
Personally, these concepts do not grasp, nor hold my attention. Of course, neither does the idea of vampires =P
Right now, I'm content with curling up with a good Forgotten Realms book, particularly the ones involving Drizzt <3
I did also see the movie which, as do most movies based on books, sucked in comparison to the book which wasn't all it was made out to be to begin with. I will not use any better or more proper word. It simply sucked, and as a teenage female, I am insulted by the way they made Bella look stupid and helpless in the movie. Anyone who has read the book can tell you that yes, Bella is whiny, clumsy, and even irrational. But she is not stupid, and some of my favorite parts of the book are the witty banters between her and Edward...which they coincidentally cut out of the movie. I think the only thing that truly followed the storyline, was the scenes at the end with James...up until the hospital scene...they messed that up too =/  

[Erikittie]

I will admit that I was disappointed, when I read the first few pages of Twilight. I wasn't gripped by it. Bella's narrative left me somewhat bored at the beginning. I expected a lot more from the book and it didn't help that I was impressed with the blurb and the front cover. I was expecting a more mature novel, but the language was simple, and I usually aspire to read books that are full of metaphors, vivid imagery and words to a level that I'll have to look at least one up in a dictionary whilst I'm entertained by the plot.

However, the Twilight series is one of my favourite book series. Like any other fan of romance and darkness, I was captured by the storyline and I enjoyed the personality traits of the characters. Particularly Edward's and Jacob's. Often no matter how a book has been written if the characters capture and captivate your heart you will remain with your nose ensnared between the pages.

It was personally New Moon that I loved the most, as I could relate to it so much. Plus the book had tension and many twists and turns.

As others have referenced in this thread, Twilight was designed for young teenagers and likely for those who find reading difficult or those who usually dislike it. In that sense, it has achieved its goal and it has been very effective in the market, which makes it a good book series by default.

I have to say just as a side-note that it was quite scary seeing a boy, who looked about 9 or 10 years old, and his Mother choose to buy Twilight. He looked slightly too young for the erotic tendencies in the sequels. But that's what you get when a book series takes the reading world by storm.

You shouldn't judge Twilight, until you try it. You never know, you might like it. 3nodding  

[MyOwnBestCritic]

I loathed it. The characters are flat and one-dimensional, the plot is nonexistent, and the "romance" has pretty much no basis in reality. You can read the first five pages and the last five pages and know exactly what happens in the story.

Any book where the main character can be replaced by a cheeseburger and the plot will not change? Not a book I appreciate.

Here is a link to a literary analysis of only the elements of style, completely disregarding the quagmire of the plot and characters. I will be discussing these later in the same thread.

HALF of the book is describing how shiny and pretty and cream-your-panties-licious her love interest is. The other half is the main character being gushed over by everyone (even though she's supposed to be unpopular) and acting on her one "character flaw," which is being cutely clumsy when the "plot" demands it. Seriously. NOTHING HAPPENS in this goddamned book.

The entire thing reads like bad fanficiton. I don't have the stomach to try the sequels.