The Twilight Saga

**Disclaimer**  I'll probably be giving away a little bit of the plot to the books, so if you are still reading the Series...proceed with caution!

So I finally decided to read the Twilight books and figure out what was so great that it had all of my students (7th graders to seniors) actually sticking their heads in a book!  It didn't take too long to realize that the story is plain mesmerizing.  I started the saga last Sunday and finished it today.  I even read the 3rd book in one night.  I started at 6:30 and couldn't stop reading until I finished it at 2:30 that morning.

A guy friend and aspiring author said that he wanted to read the series and try to figure out what it was that women wanted in a good novel, since Twilight seemed to be the only thing teenage girls could talk about lately.  My first response was, "A girl wants out of a novel what she wants in reality but knows she isn't going to get...perfection!"  After finishing the last book, Breaking Dawn, I realize that perfection isn't exactly what these books are about.  There is something else that speaks to girls of all ages.  Here's my take...

Bella is every girl, and Edward is the guy that every girl wants.  (Ok, at least a large majority of every girl).  Bella, the main character, is the typical awkward teenage girl.  She isn't really sure where she fits in, she feels overwhelmed with the responsibilities of life, and she feels the need to protect those she loves although it puts here in jeopardy  Even the prettiest, most graceful girl in the world has her days when she feels ugly, clumsy, and left out.  But Bella gets what us girls only dream of.  She hits the lottery when the most perfect, beautiful guy in the whole state of Washington, Edward, begins to notice her.

Bella can't comprehend how this wonderful guy can find her remotely interesting, but he does.  And he doesn't just find her interesting, he finds her remarkable, so remarkable that he falls in love with her.  But what makes Edward the perfect guy?  First, he's good looking.  (Face it, looks may not be everything, but they are something!)  He's a gentleman: opening doors, meeting her father, saving her from danger.  But even in all of his romance, he is still mysterious, with a hint of bad boy in him.  He's a vampire, which as scary as that should be, is only more intoxicating.  He's forbidden, and most of us want what we can't have! 

Edward stops at nothing to protect Bella; he even leaves Bella because he thinks his presence in her life only brings her danger.  Again we relate to Bella as she loses her first love.  She lives the next few months in a haze doing only the bare minimum to survive.  Don't we all remember losing our first love?  I recall the lonely days thinking I would never be able to function normally again, trying to reach out to someone, anyone that can help pull me from the quicksand that was taking me under.  Bella reaches out to her friend, Jacob, needing something to distract her from herself.  But despite her connection with Jacob, she can't give up her love for Edward.

I cried when Edward finally returned.  I pictured myself as Bella.  How I would have felt if several months later the love of my life would have come back to me.  Edward wasn't trying to be fickle and mess with Bella's mind; he honestly couldn't live without her.  He promised that he would spend the rest of his existence (which could be a while considering he's immortal) proving his love for her.  

Another interesting point of the book, is that it's not saturated with sex.  In fact, Edward refuses to have sex with Bella until they are married.  Of course, they are both tempted by the fact, but Edward doesn't only want to protect Bella physically (he's a vampire and could kill her without meaning to) but he also wants to protect her soul.  He doesn't want to defile her.  It's so nice to see a guy care so much about a girl, that he wouldn't want to even harm her spiritually.  Since there is no sex, Bella and Edward connect intimately through conversation and emotions.  He watches her sleep and listens to her talk in her sleep.  He reads her facial expressions and translates her body language.  Edward discovers who Bella is and what she wants.  They share true intimacy, which is more alluring than any sexual relationship.

Ultimately, the book does end in a happily ever after, although it doesn't come easy to Bella.  Her life is thrown into complete turmoil,  but in the end, it all works out.  It wasn't perfect and some things were sacrificed, but it was all worth it.  And that's the hope that every girl, and I'm sure every guy, clings to.  We pray that after all our drama is done, everything will work out.  It may not be perfect, and we may lose some things in the process, but eventually, we hope that we end up with the guy or girl, the family, and the friends.

Yeah, the story is fiction.  There aren't real vampires or werewolves, and if they were, they probably wouldn't be the vegetarian kind.  However, you can't escape the reality of this novel.  Every girl wants to be loved and protected.  Every girl wants to feel wanted and appreciated.  And we aren't afraid to sacrifice and fight as long as the guy is willing to fight and sacrifice as well.  Then when the trials are all done, or at least momentarily paused, we can sit back and enjoy our happily ever after with the one we love.