Twilight

[author_by_night]

Twilight fans:

So I'm researching teenager literature and culture due to wanting to try and write in that genre, and it is evident that Twilight is what piques the interest of many teen girls right now.

So whether you're a teen or not, I'm going to put my personal opinion of the books aside and ask - why do you like them?

If you don't like the books, why do you think others do?

ETA: I initially screened comments, but I decided against it. However, I do ask that everyone keep things civil - this is not the place to debate other people's opinions. I'm just curious about yours. 

Comments

[r-a-black.livejournal.com]

You know I'm not a fan, but I do like to consider what the reasons are for people enjoying the books. Have you ever read cleolinda's posts on why she thinks they appeal to people so much? I tend to agree with her a lot.

I think it's a combination of Bella being the Center of the Universe and her having a very gorgeous- not just good looking- man wanting her. If you want to include Jacob as well, then that heightens things, but Edward alone is enough. Bella gets to live out all the inner wishes that most if not all girls go through at some point in their lives: I'm not super-model pretty, or pretty at all, I wish at some point I would stand out to a fantastic guy even in a crowd of other beautiful women. I wish there was someone out there who saw all these special and wonderful things about me that I don't see or recognize. I wish I had someone who was passionately devoted to me, so passionate that it would cause him to do things he's not accustomed to doing. And so on. Then you tack on that "someone" as the most coveted guy in your school/town/country/world and you get a bunch of extra things coming with that. For one, I think making other girls jealous might appeal to some people, especially if you (the reader) often felt physically inferior to these girls. You are so special now that you not only got the attention of a guy, but you got the attention of a guy that so many girls would love to date. It pumps your specialness to an even higher level.

Does any of that make sense? I don't know, lol.