Becky’s take on the Twilight saga

I did not fall in love with the story when it first came out. I suppose when the first book was released, I was in the middle of upper-level literature classes in college that required an immense amount of assigned reading, leaving little time for extracurricular reading, especially for me when I had a young son, a husband, and a house to manage.

I believe my first encounter with Twilight was actually late one Saturday night a few years after it’s release when I was the only one awake in the house and I went flipping through the TV channels. The last hour of the movie version of Twilight was on and I watched it without even opening the book beforehand. I had heard of it, but honestly, it didn’t sound like anything I had ever read before and perhaps it was even a little too much on the dark side for my taste. But after watching the last half of the first movie, I was intrigued. I wanted to know what was going to happen to these characters. I’m a sucker for a G / PG rated love story so the fact that it involved a love story and a mystery hooked me for good. I found myself on ebay the next day buying the first 2 or 3 movies so that I could check them out for myself. After all, if I didn’t care for them, I could always sell them back on ebay. I also made a trip to the local library and checked out the first book. I couldn’t watch all these movies and not read the books. And boy, was I glad I read the books because as much as I love the movies, the books give so much more depth to the story by offering detailed thoughts and feelings of the characters, as well as insider information about the world that Mrs. Myers created.

Warning, in case you haven’t read the books or watched the movies: There are spoilers ahead!

Like Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Bella and Edward are star-crossed lovers from the beginning. Just as R & J do, Bella and Edward love each other to the point that the choices in their relationship causes them to walk a fine line between life and death. There is realistically portrayed suspense, desire, and relationships that thrive in Mrs. Meyers’ fantasy world. I found Bella and Edwards’ chaste relationship refreshing, but the sexual tension and danger just enough to keep me on the edge of my seat.

For me, one of the biggest reasons I am drawn to this story is the bond I feel with the vivid, intense characters and their plights. It is more of a love story, than a fantasy, vampire story and I find myself living in their world and not wanting to leave as I turned the pages. I am introverted and awkward, just like Bella. I empathise with Edward and his inner struggles. Anyone, young or old, would be lucky to have a friendship as strong as the one between Bella and Jacob. I can relate to the electrifying chemistry between two high schoolers in love that Meyers describes in detail. My now husband and I were those two teens about 15 years ago. I couldn’t stand to be away from him for one class period and if he left me for months, as Edward did Bella, I think I would have went to Italy for him, too.

Oh, and one of the best things about the story is that it ends with a much happier ending than Romeo and Juliet. They overcome the bad guys and the inner struggles, and in the end they don’t have to give up each other, their families, their safety, or their lives. I love a happy ending where every circumstance had a purpose and the web that had been woven by the author for thousands of pages all comes together for the good in the end. I have to admit, I cried at the end because I knew the story was over and I wasn’t ready to leave Forks, Washington. I hope you check out the series and enjoy it at much as I did.