The Twilight Zone

There is a strange phenomenon gripping the suburbs of our country. It involves perfectly innocent, even ordinary housewives and teenagers alike. It is an obsession with the relationship between a teenage girl and her boyfriend. One who happens to be....a vampire.

Yes, I am ashamed to admit it. I fell into the trap as well. It all started, innocently enough, with reading a book for my Book Club. Everyone was reading it, couldn't put it down! And after all, it was written by an LDS gal in Arizona. Support our enterprizing members!

I started reading "Twilight" but had a difficult time getting into it at first. It was such an intimate look into the mind of a teenage girl, sometimes it made me feel uncomfortable. I remembered my own awkward teenage years....feelings of inadequacy, unsure of my place in the world or society, worrying about my grades, but even more, worrying about what other people thought of me. I can't say that I was very much like Bella, the main character of "Twilight," but it reawakened those memories I had of that period in my life.

Absolute misery.

I would never want to go back.

So I was hesitant about attaching myself to this story. Stephenie Meyers' writing style is not what I would refer to as literary genius. (The comparison of her to JK Rowling is ludicrous to me....she is not even in the same universe.) Parts of the story were cheesey or overly-dramatic. (I mean, really, do you have to turn around and try to be a martyr every week?) But Meyers is very clever here. She gets you hooked on the story line, intrigued with what's going to happen next. You are willing to trudge through the pages and pages of both repetitive and sappy descriptions of Edward's angelic face and how often he softly strokes Bella's cheek....ugh....just to find out....

Anyway, when it came down to it, I ate it up like everyone else. I joined the crowd who was so excited for the fourth and final installment of the book series, that I had to preorder it on Amazon, then waited on tender-hooks until it arrived. I stayed up late two nights in a row (I know, it should have been only one all-nighter but I do have a life, you know!) trying to finish it, then immediately tore it apart with my friends. ("Can you believe she did this?" and "What's with the ripped-apart bed-posts, anyway?") I do not want to give away any important parts for those of my friends still reading it (Are there really any of you out there?), so I will leave it there.

All this drama and excitement over a silly book series can only lead to one thing....a movie deal, of course! I rallied all my Book Club pals and organized a party to see the "Twilight" movie on opening night. We bought tickets in advance online, so as not to have to miss out on such a historic cultural phenomenon. Heidi, of course, went with me as well. All of her friends had read the books, and it was all they were talking about. I felt the series was a little too hormone-driven for the imagination of a 12-year old girl, but gave in to letting her see the movie.

The energy in that theater was palpable! I was surrounded by 12-year old girls, their high and constant chatter spiking up the energy of the room, and the voices of the mothers, competing with the near-hysteria of excitement. When the lights dimmed everyone cheered. Then as a hush fell over the crowd as it was about to start, one of the gals from my group yelled out, "I love you, Jacob!", starting a chorus of cheers and, "I love you, Edward!"'s all over the theater. This is the eternal debate of "Twilight," who should Bella be with....Edward or Jacob?

The debate continues....

The cheering and audience participation continued throughout the movie. Whenever a new character entered a scene, there would be cat-calls and whistles. Lines of dialogue immediately recognized from the book were cheered like words from an energized political speech. We were Meyers' faithful followers, and I don't think anyone left disappointed. All her true fans were just willing the movie to be phenomenal, whether it could live up to it or not, so of course it has succeeded.

Now the mayhem can die down a little.

Until the next movie, that is.

As for me, I find I admire the woman who inspired so many swooning teenage girls and their mothers to come together and discuss the same book so whole-heartedly. She woke up one morning after having a vivid dream. After writing it down and expanding it some, it eventually turned into one of the most successful young adult series of all time. Just an ordinary, run-of-the-mill mother and housewife.

Just like me.

I could relate to her, and yet I find I am a little envious. Being a break-out star of a writer was always my fantasy as well. Now if only I could have a really fabulous dream one night....