Is Twilight the Worst Book Ever Written? Debunking the Myths

As an aspiring Young Adult (YA) writer, I was compelled to dive into the first book of Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. Despite hearing much about its reputation as one of the worst books due to its bland main character, poorly structured plot, and problematic romantic elements, I decided to give it a try. My objective was to glean insights on what not to do as a writer, at the very least.

My Thoughts

Twilight is undoubtedly not good in any sense of the word, but I find myself enjoying it anyway. The dialogue is cringe-worthy, she overly favors narration over description, it is super repetitive, and Meyer has a habit of overusing adverbs. My favorite example is the villain's dialogue, "sociably" he asks to join the Cullen's baseball game. Furthermore, the protagonist Bella is boring and goes through no discernible character growth, while Edward is indeed a creep.

However, all of this would be acceptable if not for an aggravating sentence on page 460: "I'm sorry" I apologized. "I'm sorry" I APOLOGIZED. "I'M SORRY" I APOLOGIZED. UGHHHHH!!! Yes, we get it; you apologized when you said, "I'm sorry." How did that past the editor? Such a small thing, I know, but it feels like an amateur writing quirk.

A Blend of Atrocities and Cool Innovations

Yes, they are a rable atrocity. I found it impossible to believe that the editor let this uneventful crap, complete with unlikable characters, be published.

But on the other hand, they are much better than people give them credit for. The author did some really cool things to add to the Vampire lore, like the Volturi and the fact that it takes three days of burning to basically turn into stone. Critics constantly forget that this is, at the end of the day, a YA series. I found it enjoyable, and most of the people who hate it I've discovered haven't actually read it. They've only seen memes and base their judgment on that, oy. Bella is misunderstood because she doesn't represent masculine strengths; she has long been seen as embodying feminine strengths. She protects rather than attacks but is far from the passive wimp she is accused of being. It is kind of disturbing that we only value masculine violence; Katniss from The Hunger Games anyone? We devalue anything else.

Just read the books for yourself and don't let other people stop you from experiencing an enjoyable experience. Check out Victoria Nelson’s lecture on the mythology behind the novels in a YouTube called "Stephanie Meyer and the 21st Century Vampire Romance" from Claremont University.

Conclusion

Is Twilight the worst book ever written? It depends on your perspective. While it may not be a masterpiece in writing and character development, it still has its merits. Read it for what it is—a mix of shortcomings and unique innovations. Whether you love or hate it, reading a book with a different perspective can be incredibly enlightening.