Twilight Review

She may not be my favorite author, but I can't escape the fact that I am insanely jealous of her easy entrance into the world of cult fiction. What I wouldn't give to be able to have that kind of fan energy....

So in honor of a woman I admire - and to answer my (modest amount of) own fans who've asked my opinion of the infamous Twilight Series, here goes.

When I first started reading Twilight, I was nearly shaking with excitement. The books were long and I like that (more good stuff!). I read the first book July of 2008 within about 48 hours and enjoyed it quite thoroughly, disappointed when it ended. I loved many of the characters, especially Alice, Esme, Jasper and Carlisle.

Regarding Bella: I enjoyed reading about a girl who is bad at sports, has very white skin and isn't regarded as "the cool girl." However, I found her relationship with Edward displeasing almost instantly. I love a good romance; I do NOT like a romance that is held together by an insatiable need to...what? be together forever? be with someone who excites you? be near someone just because you HAVE TO BE? I wasn't exactly sure WHY they were together and thus my love of Bella began to fade. As the series continues, Bella becomes a very needy girl who can't be away from Edward at all.

Edward? Well, something about the books always bothered me. I didn't exactly know what it was until those "Team Edward/Team Jacob" tees came out. That's when I realized that I was - unintentionally - a Team Jacob girl. Edward makes Bella desperate, heart stricken, shaking from the cold, and, well faint just from kissing him! Jacob builds her a motorcycle, takes her for walks on the beach, and makes her smile!

My conclusion: The premise was fun (cute girl stricken by boy she can't exactly have), the writing was fast and easy to read (not JK Rowling, but nothing to complain about really), and although I wanted to throw Eclipse across the room (or rather, the London airport, where I read the entire book last summer) because of her unrationalized need for a vampire who refuses to turn her, I read every book (and re-read many parts of Breaking Dawn). I mean, let's face it: it's not every day you turn into a gorgeous, super fast and strong, immortal vampire. But when it comes to the romance, a little "why I love him" would be nice. And no, the answer can't be "because I can't be without him."

The Time Traveler's Wife Review

I was very enthusiastic about reading the Time Traveler's Wife after seeing the incredible reviews it got. This book certainly did not disappoint. Just as I was thinking 'this really doesn't make sense', everything started fitting together perfectly.

The Time Traveler's Wife is about a man, Henry, who has "Chrono Displacement" disorder. This means that he has the ability to spontaneously jump to different sequences in time. He does this by no will of his own, and he has no control over where or when he will appear (completely naked I might add) in time. That's right. Every time he passes through time he appears, stark naked, without any idea of where he is or what year he has arrived in.

He first meets his wife, Clare, when he is 28 and she is 20. She runs up to him and exclaims that she's known him her entire life. This is all news to him however, as he's never seen her before. However, when he reaches his 40's he finds himself traveling back in time to Clare's childhood and meeting her as a 6-year-old. She knows a whole lot about Henry that he doesn't know, and the book alternates between his viewpoint and hers. The reader gets to experience the frustrations Clare experiences, as a woman who never knows when her husband will disappear and for how long, or if he is safe. We also get to 'travel' with Henry as he ends up in sometimes beautiful, sometimes precarious situations.

Instead of being purely science fiction, this book weaves together an amazing love story that deals with complex ideas - time travel, marriage, children, religion, death, loss - and it weaves them all together in an honest way that really makes you feel like you can understand the characters. These aren't perfect people; they each have flaws, and make mistakes, and at times I found myself not liking things that they did. However, at the end if you haven't shed at least a few tears for them then you have a heart made of stone. Seriously.

So I highly recommend this book, and I also highly suggest that you read it before it's upcoming theatrical release on August 14th. I have no idea if they will destroy this story on screen or make it worthwhile. I'm posting the trailer here if you're interested, but in my opinion the trailer is severely lacking the darkness or the science fiction aspects of the book. It kind of looks like they took this amazing book and turned it into a really sappy chick flick. The book has many male and female fans, and many feel the same way I do about the trailer. Some love it, some absolutely detest it. I'm not really liking it, but I'm hoping it will surprise me. I will definitely see it either way.

Susie's July Book Reviews

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
I am currently on page 140 of this twisted, mind-bending love story. I'll let you know what I think (and if I can apply logic to it at all) when I'm done!

The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman
This has been a favorite of mine since I first read it five years ago.
Alice Hoffman is always gifted at combining a supernatural storyline with realistic, believable characters. Check back to find out what you're missing if you don't read it!

Upcoming Book Reviews - July 2009

During the month of July, get ready for reviews by Christina Harner of the following books:



Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer
Now that I'm a YA author, everyone asks what I think of the Twilight series. So, I'm going to just give my opinion once and for all and be done with it!





The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
I'm just about finished with Specials, the final book in a trilogy that sheds new light on what our future could look like as nature-thwarting human beings.


.


The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
One of the books that spurred me on to a higher standard of writing.

Our First Post

Welcome to our BFF Blog! I will update this post in the future.

Susie - I think if we both review the same book, we should just edit the post of whichever of us started it. So that it will be like "synopsis, links, my review, your review" all on one post.
Also, I'll change our header once we get the pic. I'm so excited!!!!

Christy