Danger is the word that comes to mind.
Not from the action, which was minimal to the bewilderment of my brother while he watched the movie (“I thought this was a vampire movie!”), but from the emotional and mental implications & validations impressed into young girls’ minds.
This will be less of a revue and more of a commentary on the social implications of this novel. The actual content in the book is not what mattered anyway. For those curious, the writing was elementary and made me feel qualified to become an author of teen chick lit. As soon as I saw the word “scintillating”, I knew this woman had the thesaurus in hand while writing these novels.
So, what about this poorly written book had teenage girls and adult women everywhere making this a #1 bestseller. From my own personal testimony, I started to hate the book after the 2nd novel. But I still found myself dragging myself to the store to purchase the 3rd and then the 4th book. It was like crack, I was addicted. And I didn’t even like the high anymore. I just wanted to know what happened so badly.
The hook was that it played to a warped psyche that many girls & women have developed. Why it developed, I have no idea but I know I have it and that is why it is so easy to recognize. It’s the classic story of the “bad” boy falling open & sweet exclusively for the shy, good girl. The good girl is the one who can see him for who he truly is, not the bad boy he portrays, but the good spirit hidden within. Why do we identify with this so much? Because we all like the guy with edge that makes us wonder. And if we could get him to open up to us (where no one else has succeeded), then that makes the victory that much sweeter and that much more special. It’s twisted indeed. Why do we want the dark/bad/edgy guy? Oooh, why? Why not the good guy who is really the brave one indeed because he is not afraid to put his heart out in the open? Because the good guy does not feel like a victory; there were no obstacles to defeat; no breakthroughs to make; everything was just easy. And, to be frank, easy is boring. Older, wiser women would prefer easy to challenging and they advise us younger women to do the same. However, the cycle repeats itself. And, one day, we will become the old women advising the younger women to do the same.
****Spoiler Alert****
****Spoiler Alert****
****Spoiler Alert****
****Spoiler Alert****
This book glorifies this good-girl-gets-edgy-guy phenomenon to the letter. The guy is a vampire! She gives up humanity to be with this guy. Is this book promoting us to give up our lives for a man? I would not be so upset or consider it so dangerous if it were not for its intended audience: young teenage girls. This is the age when they start forming their expectations of men in a relationship. The foundation they build at this young age will be hard to change in later years. This book is romanticizing this very phenomenon and is enforcing this type of relationship as the standard for a lot of girls instead of the exception that it should be.
PS. On a funny (sad) note, I think I was doomed well before my teenage years. Back when I was 7 (no my memory is not that good but my diary was great), I used to like 2 guys. Donny, the nice boy, who treated me with care and respect. And Brandon, the cute boy, who only acknowledged me when he needed help with something. Guess whom I was smitten with in the end???
