Cosmix Fairy
Group: Former Staff
Posts: 8,090
Joined: April 6 2007
From: India
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So...drum-roll, please...here's my chapter-by-chapter S Meyer's Twilight series. Okay, that didn't really deserve a drum-roll, but still... xD
Anyway, I remember actually liking this series at first, before bland main characters and obsessive fan-girls pushed me over the edge, so I thought I'd give the books another shot, and I wanted to share my opinion with you guys.
Note: (Constructive) criticism is always welcome. But please keep it polite, and keep it sensible. I'm sorry if you and I don't share opinions, just don't read these reviews then.
So, anyway, let's get this show on the road. =D
(Preface and) Chapter One:
Wow, it really must've been a while since I first read this book, because I read the nine sentences of the preface, turned the page, and then actually checked if a page had fallen out, or something, because the preface seriously felt incomplete to me. If she was going for a cliffhanger, it really didn't have the desired effect. But maybe that's just me. Anyway, while the hunter smiled in a friendly way as he sauntered forward to kill Bella, I turned the page and started on the first chapter. What I pretty much got from all of the chapter First Sight can be summarized into four simple words: Bella whines a lot. And no, I'm not trying to trash the book, if that's what you're thinking. It's just that Meyer pretty much displays that character trait of Bella in every other sentence she writes. And if you read on, I'll explain later how this is QED. Anyway, the story starts with our heroine leaving her mother, and big, bright, warm Phoenix, Arizona, bound for the cold, dark, "inconsequential" town of Forks, in Washington, to move in with her Dad. The whining starts there too. Miss Swan never ceases to remind us of how she's making a big sacrifice by moving to Forks. and frequently complains about her decision. She clearly doesn't want to go to Forks, and is dreading going to school there. Sacrifices are hard, but Bella mentions it far too many times; it becomes really annoying. She's mentioned how much she doesn't want to live in Forks at least eight individual times. Yes, I counted. But if you're going to make a sacrifice, if you really want to, accept your unfortunate fate, and then BE QUIET ABOUT IT. If she's trying to gain my pity, the exact opposite is happening. I thought she was seventeen, not seven. And it would help if S Meyer explains exactly why she's leaving her mom. Since I've read the book before, I think I recall the reason coming up later in the story, but for now, at least, it seems pretty vague, which makes all that complaining entirely baseless. Anyway, Bella lands in Washington, and the next few pages basically consist of a conversation with her dad. Her father's bought her a truck, and registered her for high school. Nice of him. Bella's relatively grateful, but sounded kind fo weird to me, in a couple of places. One of them is just before she lands in Port Angeles, where's she generally introducing us to who Charlie is. She says, "He [Charlie] seemed genuinely pleased that I was coming to live with him..." ... Dude, he's your dad. Of course he's pleased! I doubt he has any ulterior motives. Oh, and later, when he says he's found a car for her, she has this to say: "I was suspicious of the way he say "good car for you", as opposed to just "good car"." Again, why is she so suspicious of her father? Is she trying to convince us he's Police Chief Swan by day, cat burglar by night, or something...? ??? Moving on... So they're driving through Forks, and all the green-ness scares Bella, apparently. She thinks Forks is "too green", even to the extent of saying, "Even the air filtered down greenly through the trees." Okay, I am at a loss for witty comments. That sentence just made me go: "Uh, whaaaaaat...?" ...Anyway, Bella gets home, and starts to unpack. While doing so, she whines some more about the next day, just filling us all in on how much she's dreading starting high school at Forks. Oh, joy. She "stares dejectedly out of the window for a little while" and adds, "I wasn't in the mood to go on a real crying jag. I would save that for bedtime..." Two pages later, as promised: "I didn't sleep well that night, even after I was done crying." Like I said before, being a little too dramatic, aren't we? The next day, Bella's horrible high-school ordeal begins. Bella constantly acts like she's making a big sacrifice, but never really mentions what she had to leave behind in Phoenix. She must miss her mom, that's understandable. But other than that? Says she didn't fit in there, in fact. So what difference does it make if she starts out at a new school? She should look at the situation with a little more optimism. And if she thinks Forks High School is particularly unpleasant, it's partly her fault. Bella says she didn't find a niche to fit into in her last school, and I can see why. She doesn't bother to remember new classmates' names, jumps to conclusions about people without even getting to know them, mentions at least twice that she's already covered a lot of the coursework. Courtesy only goes so far, Bella. So many of the kids at school are friendly and genuinely helpful, and after all the complaining Bella's done about starting school here, I'd have thought she'd be grateful... And finally...don't worry, I didn't leave this part out...she sees the Cullens in the cafeteria, at lunchtime. Of course, she's instantly enchanted by the strange, distant, beautiful group who didn't ever bother to give her a second glance before. Figures she'd be attracted by them, considering how she's been repulsed by anyone who's tried to be polite to her. She ends up sitting next to Edward Cullen in biology, surprise, surprise. However, he acts like he can't stand to be around her. (And frankly, from what I've learned about her so far, I don't blame the guy.) In fact, when she goes to the school office, at the end of the day, she finds Edward trying to switch out of the biology class he has with her. She can't believe someone who doesn't even know her could start to dislike her so easily. (So the way she's been acting towards her other classmates don't count, I expect). The chapter ends just the way it started, with Bella fighting back the urge to cry. Like I said before, all this chapter has done is made me start to thoroughly dislike Bella's character, and we've only covered, what, 4% of the book? Wake me up when Jake, Alice or Emmett appear...
My take on Chapter Two will be up soon. And like I said before, comments are welcome. ^^
This post has been edited by Jahnavi: Dec 22 2009, 3:31 PM
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"We read to know that we are not alone." - C. S. Lewis
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