The Best Paranormal Romance

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1. Permalink # J. Leon said

   It “possess” the teens mind …. a books that teens don’t need to read. Parents BEWARE!!!!
   Rating: 1 / 5

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2. Permalink # Zosia said

   This is bad.

   Most teenagers are guilty of being caught up in one stupid fad or another, but the increasingly disturbing Twilight series is more than stupid; it’s frightening.

   I knew the plot (what little there is) of this LOOOONG book before I read it, but even I read on with mounting horror (and increasing boredom).
   
   Stephenie Meyer studied literature at university. We get it. But there is no need whatsoever to bring in literary comparisons and try to turn your characters into representations of Shakespeare’s. Apart from anything else, she fails miserably at it.
   
   Bella, Edward and Jacob are not Juliet, Romeo and Paris, but Meyer tries desperately to make them so. However, where Romeo and Juliet is a play about how hatred and outside forces can destroy something pure, New Moon is just an embarrassing display of teen melodrama.
   
   Bella was always a whiny, insipid little wench; always needing a man to literally prop her up. In New Moon she takes this to a frightening new level. Bella simply cannot go anywhere without either being carried or being supported by a man. Hell, even in the car there’s always a guy with his arm around her while he’s driving (and how’s that for road safety?!). She actually clings to whatever man is near her, and when there’s no man she’s sitting on the lap of, and clinging to, Alice, her female friend.
   
   We are supposed to see Bella as Juliet. She’s not. Bella’s misery is embarrassing.
   
   She goes walking at night in dangerous places, trying to attract men who previously tried to rape her. She rides – and repeatedly crashes – a motorcycle she does not know how to operate. She jumps off a cliff.
   
   All so she can hallucinate her ex-boyfriend’s voice.
   
   She wakes up screaming – EVERY NIGHT. She does things that put her in the hospital every week.
   
   Why? Because her boyfriend left her six months earlier.
   
   This is not a broken heart; this is the world’s most stupid girl being as melodramatic as it is possible to be. And anybody who’s hallucinating a boyfriend should be medicated.

   Stephenie Meyer is not a good writer, or even a trained writer, and she brags about it. If only she could get her ego under control and try and learn something about how to create a good book, then we might be getting somewhere. The thesaurus abuse does not come off as smart, just out of place and irritating. There is NEVER a good reason to use lots of fancy words just because you can.
   
   And by halfway through I was actually laughing at loud at the overuse of the same few phrases. “His eyes tightened.” (How in the world do eyes `tighten’?!) “His russet skin.” “The hole in my chest.” “My safe harbour.”
   
   Over and over again.
   
   Meyer describes everything down to the smallest and most painful detail. We know exactly what Bella cooked for her father at every meal, and we know about every test and assignment she had to do for school. She frequently breaks off in the middle of a conversation for a four page ramble about her feelings, but then when the action actually comes along it is covered in just one or two paragraphs.
   
   Meyer herself has admitted that when she started out writing she had no idea how long a manuscript should be. She found out when her first book was published and was bigger than a phone book. But then instead of giving future manuscripts a good and much-needed edit, she continued to ramble on and on. By the time anything actually happens in New Moon most – good – books would already have been finished.

   And why are Stephenie Meyer’s female (ONLY female) characters always cooking?!

   The stereotyping just goes on and on; all of it inspired by Meyer’s own biases. If you’re a blonde woman, you MUST be evil. If you’re a woman of any sort, cooking for any man near you is the ultimate life achievement (plus Bella seems to be cleaning the bathroom every second chapter). If you’re anything less than a superhero, you’re a waste of time. If you’re male, you must be in love with Meyer’s self-insert – otherwise known as Bella. I suppose it is quite amusing that Meyer wrote herself in as the starring character, seeing as said character is the nastiest and worst role model I have ever come across.
   
   Stephenie Meyer is a Mormon, and it helps to keep that in mind when trying to come to terms with the frightening religious and antifeminist themes throughout the book.

   Avoid at all costs.
   
   Rating: 1 / 5

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3. Permalink # Harriet Klausner said

   In Forks, Washington, after having recovered from a vampire assault (see TWILIGHT), Isabella “Bella” Swan celebrates her eighteenth birthday with her boyfriend and rescuer Edward Cullen and his family of vampires that are “vegans”; never drinking human blood. However when Bella cuts her arm, Edward and his kin struggle to control their desire as the trickling red liquid is like catnip to them. They do not harm her, but he realizes they can never be together and ends their relationship breaking her heart.

   Bella is depressed until she meets Ford High School sophomore Jacob, a sophomore from her school who belongs to a motorcycle pack. She begins to come out of her funk though she misses Edward. However, she soon learns what the pack truly is and what Jacob will become; a natural enemy of Edward; not just because they like the same girl.

   The second Bella tale is a terrific paranormal young adult thriller as the heroine is sort of like Marshall Teller of Eerie, Indiana landing in one bizarre situation after another. This time the vampires show up towards the end of the tale as Bella learns there is a lot more species under the sun (make that the moon) than humans. Although Jacob behaves towards Bella identically the same as did Edward in TWILIGHT even considering the first person filtering of the heroine in peril, fans will enjoy watching what happens on the NEW MOON on the Olympic Peninsular.

   Rating: 4 / 5

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4. Permalink # W. Wise said

   I have to admit I loved Twilight series when I first read them. But, then I started to think about what it promotes. I think Stephanie Meyer goes too close to the line and uses too much sensuality in a book geared towards teenagers. Her second and third book are much worse. It’s sad to see an LDS author lower her standards to reach the national market. She didn’t have to. She had a great plot that could have been written without the “steamy sections”.

   Here’s some of the problems I had with the series:
   
   1. Bella is constantly lying to her father.
   
   2. Bella and Edward constantly flirt with going too far.
   
   3. In the 3rd book all Bella can think about is having sex with her boyfriend.
   
   4. Edward constantly stays in Bella’s room overnight. They may not do “anything” but that is a recipe for disaster. How many teenagers are going to think that is okay or normal or that they can do that without getting into trouble.
   
   5. Swear Words (even though they are “mild”, can’t you write a book without them?)
   
   6. In-modest dresses that teenagers are trying to emulate. Stephanie Myers goes to great length to describe Bella’s prom dress which was inspired from a runway dress she saw. How many mothers out there are okay with their daughters wearing dresses straight from the model runways?
   
   7. Bella just does what she wants without thinking of others.

   Don’t even start the series! I wouldn’t want my girls to get hooked and then read #3 – Eclipse! That one is definitely crossing the line. Too much sensuality and absolutely no morals! Not a good role model for our teens
   Rating: 1 / 5

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5. Permalink # G. Owens said

   I really liked the first book in the series. It introduced the characters very well, I love Bella’s character (other than her sexual promiscuity) and Edward sounds God-like. The 2nd and 3rd books really were not that good. They were really slow and SHOULD have been condensed into 1/3 of the pages that they were. I could have lived without the whole Jacob saga… plus the 4th book leaves you haning in relation to Jacob. Anyway, I almost put the series down for good. I am a finisher and just had to get to the end though – which I’m glad I did! The 4th book is freaking AWESOME!!! It’s fast-paced with great romance and love (some of the sexual scenes were too much though… especially for a younger audience).

   It appalls me that these books are for “young adults.” It upsets me that the heroine of the book, Bella, is constantly throwing herself sexually at Edward, and HE is the one to want to wait until marriage. Come on… there are lots of moral women out there. It’s sad that Stephanie Meyer didn’t create a more moral character that our teenage girls could look up to. I am not going to let my teenagers read these books just for that reason. I think the whole series was way too over-hyped. I’m not sure if I’ll ever read them again, but if I do I will just quickly skim the 2nd and 3rd book.

   I have recently found an author that does portray moral upright values that I want in my daughters. I highly recommend these books to young adult/teenagers but really anyone at any age would love them. #1 Where the Wind Sings #2 Witch Way – both of these are by Robyn M. Schow.

   Gwen Owens – Grand Rapids, Michigan

   Where the Wind Sings: A Brannon’s Path Novel

   Witch Way?: A Brannon’s Path Novel
   Rating: 1 / 5

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