I now understand the "Edward thing"

So I finally broke down and did it. I joined the masses of people who have devoured Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga. Carla read them quite some time ago, but I down right refused. I am a vampire girl at heart. Anne Rice was hero there for awhile. And I just couldn't see a watered down "young adult" version of "the vampire" being entertaining. I was pretty sure it was going to ruin the whole genre. But with the movie coming out in December and the lead being played by Cedric Diggory (that's Robert Pattinson for anyone who doesn't like Harry Potter or seen Goblet of Fire), I thought what the hell, I'll give them a try. I made it through all 1747 pages that comprised the three current books in about 5 weeks. That's not good time in general, but it is good time for me, and can I say I am slightly excited for the fourth won that comes out in just a couple of weeks.

That being said; I think my endorsement needs a little clarification. These are not phenomenal pieces of literature. Despite popular inference, this is not a Harry Potter/JK Rowling caliber series. First, keep in mind they are angsty girl books with one dramatic action scene included so it can't be completely qualified as a romance novel. Therefore, there tends to be a lot of whining in these books. Secondly, the vocabulary is pretty limited...but it a teenage fiction novel so I am not sure what to expect. Occasionally you'll find a whole in the story that your meant to just shrug off (mostly because it wasn't explained well and if you think it out for a little bit you can rationalize it). Lastly, and this is something that I snicker over because I am not the target demographic for this book so I don't think it is a big concern. These are kind of books about justified pedophilia. I don't care how young he looks he's 107 years and he's dating a 17 year old. I have never found that idea trippy in any other vampire novels, but here, where he is in essence dating a child it's just....trippy.

But back to the good part, Edward (Jacob and Jasper). I love broken heroes, flawed men that need saving as often as they save the world (this is why I classify myself as a superhero junkie even though I don't read comic books). I do understand now why every girl who has read this series wishes Edward was real (I have to give this to Stephenie, she can write a good man). He's protective, noble, sincere, passionate, consumed by his true love, gentlemanly, compromising, emotional, understanding, and dedicated (not to mention a musician). He is the guy for any girl who ever wanted a truly emotional man. I found myself wanting him (but boys are always better in books). By the middle of book two I was over it. His flaws started to outweigh his good qualities and it only got worse in book 3. But Stephenie gave us other boys to salivate over. Jacob would be amazing if he wasn't overshadowed by Edward. Give Jacob his own book and the boy will be golden; basically, Edward updated to the 21st century (and warm). But Jasper takes the cake, Edward's "brother": quiet, shy, tormented, and feels weak but isn't-too bad this vamp is already taken.

In short the Twilight Saga is one of those things that isn't really good, but you love anyway...

Here's the trailer: