I know I've mentioned before that I am the mother of a 12 yr old girl. Well, I'm looking for some help. Some of her friends are reading Twilight. I have not read the book, nor heard a ton about it. I have read this review and I am not excited. Any thoughts...from anyone??
As someone who has read (and enjoyed) all four Twilight books (and read the draft of the fifth book off the internet), I gotta say they are pretty good. But are they good for a 12 y-o girl? Tough to say. Mostly, they are very fun adventure/romance novels. They place a high importance on loving one's family, the value of life, caring for others, sacrificing one's self for another, and plenty of other welcome things. But there are trade-offs.
There's the vampires and wolf-people, so that will turn some people off immediately, but that doesn't bother me much. I'd be more concerned about the relationship between Bella (teenage girl) and Edward (vampire) at the center of the books. Bella falls madly in love with Edward and would do *absolutely anything* for him, including becoming a vampire so she can be with him forever. I don't think that it's a good thing for teen and pre-teen girls to be thinking that is an ideal model for how to interact with boys. That's what bothers me most about the books as books for teens. Nicole is most bothered by Edward's half of the relationship; he is very controlling in a way that she sees repeated in middle schoolers in an unhealthy way.
[Spoiler alert!] That said, there's no drugs, no drinking, no swearing, and no sex until after marriage. (The author is Mormon.) There are some physically intimate, emotionally intense scenes where in the heat of passion they don't want to wait til marriage, but they do. I'm not sure 12 is quite old enough to be reading about those yearnings, but you'd be a better judge of that than I am.
Thank you that is soooo helpful. I too was thinking it was probably a little too mature for my sweet 12 year old. She may know situations like that, but to become emotionally part of one is different. I know that she gets very involved in the stories she reads and is often in tears or mad at a character and tends to obsess about it a bit...not at all like her mother...really. Might be easier to say, wait then no. Maybe when she is a lttle older, reading them won't be such a strong desire.
I really love that she has such a wonderful aunt and uncle that are willing to read the stuff she is interested in and offer an adult perspective - thank you!
Nicole just mentioned that perhaps the movie is better than the book, since you don't live through Bella's desire in the same way. Of course, watching the movie was what made us interested in reading the books. Which might make it harder to wait.
Actually, I also get very frustrated with Bella's character from a girls' perspective because of her obsession to be with Edward (the vampire) and make him her whole life. There is lots of talk about there being "nothing" without Edward. I pretty much despise that perspective in relationships with teens.
I have read all the books and seen the movie. Angel was actually the one that made me read them. While I enjoyed the books and the movie. After discussing it with Angel, she agrees that Mikalah should wait to read them. The first three are probably ok, but the last is a little to mature. However, neither Angel or I could wait 2 years to read the end of the story. The movie is PG-13, so that would be a flag to use as to making her wait.
Interestingly enough (if Jill would comment) she would tell you that it was required reading in her daughter's 7th grade English class! I appreciate all of your comments. I think we (along with Mikalah) have decided to wait to read the book/see the movie. Not just because of the mature themes, but I'm still not comfortable with the "horror" nature of the whole vampire theme. It is just not the kind of stuff I want in my brain or my daughters.
6 comments:
As someone who has read (and enjoyed) all four Twilight books (and read the draft of the fifth book off the internet), I gotta say they are pretty good. But are they good for a 12 y-o girl? Tough to say. Mostly, they are very fun adventure/romance novels. They place a high importance on loving one's family, the value of life, caring for others, sacrificing one's self for another, and plenty of other welcome things. But there are trade-offs.
There's the vampires and wolf-people, so that will turn some people off immediately, but that doesn't bother me much. I'd be more concerned about the relationship between Bella (teenage girl) and Edward (vampire) at the center of the books. Bella falls madly in love with Edward and would do *absolutely anything* for him, including becoming a vampire so she can be with him forever. I don't think that it's a good thing for teen and pre-teen girls to be thinking that is an ideal model for how to interact with boys. That's what bothers me most about the books as books for teens. Nicole is most bothered by Edward's half of the relationship; he is very controlling in a way that she sees repeated in middle schoolers in an unhealthy way.
[Spoiler alert!] That said, there's no drugs, no drinking, no swearing, and no sex until after marriage. (The author is Mormon.) There are some physically intimate, emotionally intense scenes where in the heat of passion they don't want to wait til marriage, but they do. I'm not sure 12 is quite old enough to be reading about those yearnings, but you'd be a better judge of that than I am.
Thank you that is soooo helpful. I too was thinking it was probably a little too mature for my sweet 12 year old. She may know situations like that, but to become emotionally part of one is different. I know that she gets very involved in the stories she reads and is often in tears or mad at a character and tends to obsess about it a bit...not at all like her mother...really. Might be easier to say, wait then no. Maybe when she is a lttle older, reading them won't be such a strong desire.
I really love that she has such a wonderful aunt and uncle that are willing to read the stuff she is interested in and offer an adult perspective - thank you!
Nicole just mentioned that perhaps the movie is better than the book, since you don't live through Bella's desire in the same way. Of course, watching the movie was what made us interested in reading the books. Which might make it harder to wait.
Actually, I also get very frustrated with Bella's character from a girls' perspective because of her obsession to be with Edward (the vampire) and make him her whole life. There is lots of talk about there being "nothing" without Edward. I pretty much despise that perspective in relationships with teens.
I have read all the books and seen the movie. Angel was actually the one that made me read them. While I enjoyed the books and the movie. After discussing it with Angel, she agrees that Mikalah should wait to read them. The first three are probably ok, but the last is a little to mature. However, neither Angel or I could wait 2 years to read the end of the story. The movie is PG-13, so that would be a flag to use as to making her wait.
Interestingly enough (if Jill would comment) she would tell you that it was required reading in her daughter's 7th grade English class! I appreciate all of your comments. I think we (along with Mikalah) have decided to wait to read the book/see the movie. Not just because of the mature themes, but I'm still not comfortable with the "horror" nature of the whole vampire theme. It is just not the kind of stuff I want in my brain or my daughters.
Thank you again for all of your input!
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