The Ledger

 
Summaries (from Amazon):
Twilight
As Shakespeare knew, love burns high when thwarted by obstacles. In Twilight, an exquisite fantasy by Stephenie Meyer, readers discover a pair of lovers who are supremely star-crossed. Bella adores beautiful Edward, and he returns her love. But Edward is having a hard time controlling the blood lust she arouses in him, because–he’s a vampire. At any moment, the intensity of their passion could drive him to kill her, and he agonizes over the danger. But, Bella would rather be dead than part from Edward, so she risks her life to stay near him, and the novel burns with the erotic tension of their dangerous and necessarily chaste relationship. 

New Moon
Bella celebrates her birthday with her boyfriend Edward and his family, a unique clan of vampires that has sworn off human blood. But the celebration abruptly ends when the teen accidentally cuts her arm on broken glass. The sight and smell of her blood trickling away forces the Cullen family to retreat lest they be tempted to make a meal of her. After all is mended, Edward, realizing the danger that he and his family create for Bella, sees no option for her safety but to leave. Mourning his departure, she slips into a downward spiral of depression that penetrates and lingers over her every step. Vampire fans will appreciate the subsequently dour mood that permeates the novel, and it’s not until Bella befriends Jacob, a sophomore from her school with a penchant for motorcycles, that both the pace and her disposition begin to take off. Their adventures are wild, dare-devilish, and teeter on the brink of romance, but memories of Edward pervade Bella’s emotions, and soon their fun quickly morphs into danger, especially when she uncovers the true identities of Jacob and his pack of friends. 

Eclipse
High school graduation looms for Bella, and conventional worries over college applications vie with her plans for immortality and marriage to a vampire classmate, Edward Cullen.

 
What I think….
Right. I wonder how many people (okay, teenagers) are there who haven’t read the Twilight series? Not that much, I suppose. And that’s not counting those who blatantly refuse to read (oh, yes, many of my online friends fall into this category).

Me?
I just read the series last May, read all three books in the span of two weeks.

And?
It’s safe to say that it’s a love-hate relationship, with more emphasis on the “hate” part.

I just want to say that IMO, Meyer should know better. She didn’t plan on any sequels, then she shouldn’t write any. In my eyes, “Twilight” is okay. I like it, even. It’s fun, it got vampires, and I was intrigued by Edward Cullen as a character, the way he keeps going “I’m attracted to you, Bella” and then going 180 degrees with “Bella, you should really stay away from me”. Heck, even I found some parts really amusing.

But then everything going downhill.

Way, way, downhill.

IMO, “New Moon” is mostly skippable. I rather enjoyed Bella’s interaction with Jacob, but my dislike for the way Bella acts is far greater than any light entertainment I got. I may not have experienced losing a boyfriend (or soulmate or whoever), but I’d like to think that if I should happened to be in Bella’s shoes (something that I strongly wish I would never be under), I’d have the strength to continue living my life unlike a “zombie”. I mean, not heartless like “jumping-on-to-another-guy-right-away” heartless, but even though I might be breaking into pieces inside, I would try to convince myself that I’m strong and I could go through this and it all would be okay, someday.

And the feminist in me reacts strongly over the fact that Bella’s will to risk her life just to hear Edward’s voice again. (In her head only, even.) I think for this part, I strongly agree with what Meg Cabot said. She even doesn’t take her husband’s name, how could she agree to Bella’s decision – desire, even – to change her species? (Okay, I don’t know why I drag Meg Cabot into this.)

So there.

However…… I will still read “Breaking Dawn”. Why, you ask? Because like I said, it’s a love-hate. I don’t hate HATE the series because it introduces Alice Cullen (who I happen to adore), because it introduces Charlie and in my head I picture him as “The Sarah Connor Chronicles” Charlie –  (who I like very much – the actor as Charlie, I mean), because it also introduces Edward Cullen, because at first it’s a cute vampire-human love story, because it once again pins vampires v.s. werewolves, because-

My point is, I guess, it’s ridiculous to call the series as “the next Harry Potter”. It isn’t even near the league of Rowling’s masterpiece. But it’s fun for light fantasy-romance combo reading. Just take the good and leave the bad.

Oh, and I very much love the covers, LoL. They’re AMAZING! =)

Download
(thanks to blazinepauline who uploads these!)
01 “Twilight”
02 “New Moon”
03 “Eclipse”