Book Review - Twilight

And just for those people who enjoyed Twilight there is another author Maggie Shayne that has been writing these vampire love stories for years now, I am hooked on her books.

I really enjoyed it and I am 31, I did recommend it to my 13 yr old (niece) but she said she isn't in to vampire books, it didn't have many swears and no sex in it. I thought the book and all the ones after it were good. I can't wait to see the movie, but I always think the books are better.

My 13.5 year old daughter and her friends are OBSESSED with this book and the whole series. The good news is, they were all so excited about literature. My daughter, generally an A student but a slowish reader, poured through these books in a month. The entire series!
She and others are going to the Twilight premiere.

The fact that it is an "all consuming" crush of the main character, is very real to 13 year olds, if anyone remembers. Every single person who reads these says they can't put them down, etc.

Now, comparing them to Gossip Girl -- I would not let my daughter read those! I read those first and there is way to much easy sex in them. Very cavalier about it too. No thanks! They also are very shallow in comparison
They are like The Clique books (which are excellent in their own way) with tawdry passages added.
Skip the GGirl and realize the chaste tension is a far-preferred scenario. As for a a 12 year old, it seems
a little much for them, but it depends on the 12 year old.

Good Luck

A little about me: I am a 40-something year old mom of a 2.5 year old son and a 13.5 year old daughter, happily married 17 years, working part time. We live in North Suburbs

A friend says yes. No sex or bad words, not a trashy romance book. The vampire is supposed to be 17. She didn't think there is anything bad for it. She actually thinks the only reason she would not have her son read it (going on 8 yrs old) is because he would not get in to and and there are vampires and werewolves.

I am a 33 y/o Mom and I read the book and loved it. I would recommend reading it first so you can make an informed decision - I can honestly say it is a great read. I think it would be fine for your 13 y/o. It does capture those teenage feelings of first love and they do no more than kiss. I went on to read the rest of the books and you'll be happy to learn (SPOILER ALERT) that the girl and her vampire boyfriend wait until after marriage for sex (and it is tastefully explained, in my opinion). It can be a little violent but that's why I think you should read it first and indulge your inner teenager. All my coworkers are reading it as well so you might find a new book club book - even if it's in the teen lit secion :)

I agree with the other 'J.' ... kinda boring for an adult ... I was waiting for something to happen as it was mostly talk of 'feelings' and lots of pining for each other. It took most of the book for the main character to 'find out' this boy was a vampire. Kinda dull ... for an adult. But ... I bet pretty exciting for a teenager. I was also very surprised how 'PG' it was ... just kissing and barely that. Finally, at the end of the book it got suspenseful ... then it was over. I won't be reading the others ... but can see how tweenagers can enjoy. My feeling is there is no reason to ban the book ... go ahead and read it.

Hi J.,
I am 30 and read the book this summer. The parts with the extreme teen angst and pining got a little old for me as well, but those are the very things that make it exciting and empathetic for a teenager to read. I am always a fan of reading a book yourself if you have any doubts as to its appropriateness. No one knows your daughter as well as you do - you will be the only person who knows if she is ready for the content or not. There is a very strong lust quality to the love story and also a bit of violence at the end, but nothing I wasn't curious about or ready for at 13. I think it is a safe story to explore these topics. I also very gently would like to remind all the mamas out there that banning things like a book "everyone else" (and in this case that actually happens to be true) is reading will often make it more attractive. Reading it with her and talking about it is probably the best bet in this case. Who knows, it may even do you a favor and set the stage for making things like discussions about sex comfortable between the two of you.
Good luck,
MC

I read it recently, when some other women at work were obsessing over it. Great literature, it is not. I had a hard time getting through it. Pages and pages and pages and more pages of mooning over each other and no other plot happening. Boring! I also was disturbed, personally, by the older man, younger-woman thing. It's not a model of anything like a healthy relationship. Vampire-boy is a creep, IMO.

Having said that, there's nothing explicitly sexual or offensive in the book. All the girls seem to be reading it, and I probably wouldn't try to keep a teenager from reading just about anything she took an interest in. Let her have her trashy fun just like we did.

If I had a girl, though, I would have a mom-daughter conversation at some point about healthy relationships and how normal healthy people don't give up little things (like their mortality!) for their teenaged boyfriends :-)

I'd be curious to read any responses about this book. As we were watching TV last night I told my husband that Twilight (the movie) was NOT one for our kids (daughter 12, son 10) were to see - they do not like scary anything.
Then at bedtime my daughter announces that her teacher requires her to get Twilight as a silent reading book. I think I'll email her teacher w/question. Do you have a good local library? Two of our librarians have daughters around this age so I find them great resources.
Has she read the series "Cliques" - not sure about the spelling. My daughter has requested this one too. Good Luck.

As an adult I loved these books! I am not a prude by any means but the books did have very strong adult themes with teenagers in them (love, lust, violence). Though I don't know how much it differs from the type of television and movies that are already out there to be honest. Eventually (though it is in the last book) there is very strong sexual content and it is throughout the books at some level along with violent themes. My 14 year old niece loved these books and is enchanted with them, so I don't really know what to say. I might try to hold off on them for my own daughter but would depend on her maturity and how her personality is in the future.
Good luck.
T.

I love the book series and I'm a 31 year old mom. Is it appropriate for a 13 year old. I would say so. There's no sex, just a little uncomfortable teenage kissing. It is about good vampires, bad vampires, and werewolves, so there is violence. But not the blood and gore type. There is no swearing. I would say it's a good fantasy story for teenagers. It is a teenage love story, but mostly it's about good and evil. It's not really a horror story even though it has vampires in it. If you really have doubts, I'd say read it yourself. It really is a good story.

I also have a 13 yr old daughter who begged me to read this book. She finished it in one week (and it is VERY thick!). So I obliged and although I have not finished yet (am getting close), I have really enjoyed this book and look forward to sitting down at the end of the day. I have never read a vampire book so it took some convincing to do so, but I found the majority of the book does not delve into this (it does now, towards the end, but you have already become involved in the characters so it seems believable). Overall I think the book is very romantic, I don't think they actually hold hands until two thirds into the book. (they do kiss, but nothing explicit). The book is very well written and I have gotten a lot of great reviews from other moms as well. My daughter has a ticket to the movie opening, she is going with a bunch of friends. I would have joined her but don't think I can stay up that late. Thumbs up from Wilmette!

I've read the first two and am on the third. So far I don't think there is anything too terrible for a 13 year old. I do know that there is some inapropriate sitituations in the fourth book (don't want to spoil it for others). Why not read it together and decide as you go along!

I am a pretty conservative mom who is reading the saga for the third time :)...I have a friend who asked the same question for her 10 yr old so I was reading thinking with that in mind...the vampire issues are mute (they are moral vampres :)...but I wouldn't want to expose her to the intense romantic/physical attraction (even though they barely kiss and demonstrate tremendous self-control) until I knew these were issues my daughter was already thinking about, and then I would use it as a luanching board for some serious discussions about dating and physical relationships.

That being said you can hardly read twilight and not the rest of the saga and the character matures, as does the content...never really racey, but way more than I would want my really young teenage daughter thinking about.

Frankly, you ought to read them and decide- I promise you won't be disappointed :)!