I wouldn't blame the book for writing about a theme like that. It's freedom of expression. It isn't Stephanie Meyer's responsibility to educate kids about life - that is ultimately the parents' responsibility.

What is more valuable to a child? to shelter her completely or to help her think through such things and recognize them?

I'm not saying it's right or wrong.  I think it takes discernment and may vary from child to child.  However, eventually children will come across ideas that are not godly and they have to have the tools to judge for themselves.

Good point.

@wherelavaandtheseameet@xanga - Maybe you should see how these girls actually react to this book. Not that your point isn't valid, but it's pretty obvious that you don't see how crazy it is. I'm in highschool, highschool, where you would think that girls would be able to discern the difference between reality and these books and would read them for light enjoyment and nothing else.
That's not the case. The girls at my school are pretty unanimously in love with Edward and try to act like they do in the book in their own relationships, only to be surprised when their trust is broken and they are taken advantage of.
If I were an adult, I wouldn't let my kids read it, or if I did, I'd tell them how unrealistic it is and make sure that they didn't become obsessed and accept it as true.

@SirNickDon@xanga - I love that quote and Orson scott card, Ender forever!!<3

I read the first book to see what the obsession was and found myself disappointed. Sure, it's good for escapism but frankly, Bella is possibly the most annoying character to ever be written. And she's the protagonist! There's no escaping her! People say this series compares to themes in Romeo & Juliet- well Juliet was never this annoying! And it's not even her utter dependence on Edward, Bella is just STUPID. Like I'm in a strange neighborhood at night, I'll just go for a walk alone even though I notice my surroundings getting shabbier and oh! I'm lost! Don't worry. Edward to the rescue.

I think a lot of women, even modern women, secretly like the idea that they don't have to do it all on their own. That once in a while prince charming will rescue them. But Bella needs rescuing every 5 seconds. Come on! And I'm amused to hear many fans say that they hate Bella. So the series' popularity rests on Edward (and/or Jacob?). From the first book, Edward is a great guy and, no doubt, many women's fantasy. I can completely understand a hesitation to let young girls read this book but I do think that most people don't see Bella as a character to admire. So the danger lies in the fantasy prince charming these girls become obsessed with, which is, like someone already mentioned, already portrayed in Disney movies.

I think no one should read these books based on the horrible writing style. Someone get that woman an editor!! Five adjectives in one sentence is nauseating. If I wrote a paper like that in high school I wouldve gotten a poor grade. How it got published is a testament to the power of a "love story"/escapism.

P.S. Harry Potter is so much better :]

I very much agree with you. I have not read Twilight, but I've seen the utter infatuation and it's kinda scary. I'm not sure I wouldn't allow my daughter to read them, but if she did want to read them, we would read them together with a lot of discussion.

Thank you. I've been trying to find a way to put what I've been feeling into words about the Twilight series. A lot of my friends are obsessed with it, and I myself make way too many Twilight comparisons. Example: I was flying over Arizona and leaned over to my friend and said that Arizona reminded me of Bella and Twilight. Her response? "I was going to say that!" I don't think the books are bad in the sense that they're ungodly as much as I think they're bad in the way they're written. Fine literature is just not written anymore. Also. Infatuation. O. M. G. My friend works at Hot Topic- a music store in the mall where the alt kids shop-and they sell more Twilight paraphernalia than anything else. There's a whole rack for Twilight merch.  But the relationships are the worst part. I'm a skeptic and a realist, so I can read the book and get swept up in the story, but then put it down and walk away. Not many of my friends who've read the series can. We've had entire conversations about the finer aspects of Twilight's relationships compared to our relationships. It's ridiculous, really. Bella does lean on Edward exceptionally much, and they fall in love after an insignificant amount of time and conversation and get WAYYYY too involved emotionally. That scares me, the way we as women fall for the perfect guy. It's too easy. No guy is that perfect, and we don't want to think about putting work and tears into our relationships. We want the Prince Charming.

I think Twilight is bad for women also because it puts false expectations about guys in our minds. My guy friend read the first book at my behest and was digusted. He said "No guy is like that. There just, there is no guy that perfect." It can be really detrimental to your emotions.

I think it's really good that me and some friends read it together so we could have fun but also talk about it and be able to tell each other when they're going off the deep end with expectations.

But also, it is a fantasy novel. It's not doctrinal literature. It's not a Pulitzer winner. It's a book you buy in the airport, read on your flight home, and then give to the Salvation Army.  Yes, there needs to be caution when reading it, but it's not Wiccan evangelism. Guard your heart, but don't be stiflingly protective or your kids will read it anyway, and you won't have the benefit of talking to them about it. My mom and I would read/watch/listen to controversial things and then discuss them afterwards, keeping a Biblical and grounded perspective. I found that's really helped me a lot.

Amen. You are completely right! Thank you for posting this. I thought the exact same thing! That's how most love stories are now/these days! The lovers get so wrapped up in eachother it's like idol worship....instead of knowing & loving their Creator, they are worshipping the created.

@PhotographicWords@xanga - Honestly, I've always read Juliet as being extremely Bella-like, and Romeo was probably a worse gamble than Edward.

@SirNickDon@xanga - The actual romance in Romeo and Juliet is so sappy and gag-inducing--not to mention as out-of-proportion and overpowering as that in Twilight--that even Shakespeare himself ended up parodying it.  See the play-within-a-play "Pyramus and Thisbe" performed by the rude mechanicals in "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

@scrambledmegsntoast@xanga - I suppose you also have to take into account, though, that you're speaking to someone who still dresses in handmade medieval clothing and straps an actual sharpened sword to his hip and goes out prowling about in the woods for days on end as though he really was a Dunedain Ranger.  And at his age, too.  (Had coyotes circling my campfire on my last outing, and all I could think to myself was, What Would Aragorn Do?)

Perhaps you and your friends know on a conscious level that Twilight or Hunger Games or The Da Vinci Code or whatever is fiction.  But fiction books still carry messages--messages that are easily internalized.  And I don't think it's inappropriate for a parent to (at the very least) help their child be aware of those messages through critical thinking, or even (if their judgement demands) censor their reading lists of certain materials until an older age.  I think @stuartandabby@xanga has it in terms of it varying from child to child, depending on who can handle what--I know plenty of LOTR readers who never obsessed half as much as I did.  (I cannot, however, agree with @wherelavaandtheseameet@xanga 's unequivocal stance against parental censorship in any form.)

If these other commenters feel that Twilight wouldn't be a good read for their kids, that's really between them and their kids and God--those are their convictions.