So this past summer, Emily Rachelle did a series called Tackling Twilight in which she read and reviewed every Twilight book and movie. No...

Ten Things About Twilight That Almost Turned Me Into A Twi-Hard

Alexa Mintah

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So this past summer, Emily Rachelle did a series called Tackling Twilight in which she read and reviewed every Twilight book and movie. Now I’d already done that when I was a younger teen, so I’d always felt entitled to spew my opinions all over the place (whether positive or negative, I had very strong feelings about Twilight); but reading her reviews, she mentioned a lot of things that I didn’t remember noticing. Things that would kinda change my view on certain characters, that book, or even the series as a whole. It intrigued me to think how my opinions might’ve changed from the past few years of life, so I took it upon myself to reread the first book and spout my new opinions all over my corner of the blogosphere.

That particular post was supposed to go live last month. It did not because it was half as long as a college research paper and more incoherent than my baby sister’s stories (and she does not know her full alphabet). Upon realizing that I am incapable of communicating my thoughts about even the first book coherently in a normal book review, I decided to do it this way instead, hoping that a list would help me organize my thoughts and keep them concise.

So. Let’s see if this thing works.

1. Isabella Swan: Okay, so I tried to go into this book with an open mind, but I kind of already hated Bella based on my past opinions (basically everything was her fault, including but not limited to global warming and the price of tea in China). So it really surprised me, when, upon opening the book and meeting the girl for the second time, I actually liked her. She was 17 going on 70, didn’t deal well with most people, super clumsy, and OH MY GOODNESS, SHE WAS SORT OF SARCASTIC. In so many ways, Bella Swan was me, and I connected with her, related to her, and was completely drawn into her story. Within the first few pages, I actually liked Bella Swan, and I did not see the coming.

2. The Beginning of the Story: Another thing I didn’t see coming: the beginning of the story actually grabbed me. I found myself wanting to return to Twilight rather than dreading it. I thought about it during the day, strangely fascinated by the time I’d spent there, until I was actually eager to return to Twilight of all things. I was shocked, slightly mortified, but strangely intrigued by the grip this novel had on my heart. I was actually enjoying it, and I could see it turning into a story that I could (grudgingly) fall in love with.

Only the beginning, though. Later, everything annoyed me. But we are not talking about that today.

3. Edward Cullen: I’m going to complain about him extensively next week, so I figure I oughtta be nice and sweet now. When he’s not annoying me to the very edge of my sanity, Mr. Cullen-Boy is a tragic, little fluff-bunny heart-explosion waiting to happen. Honestly, I’m disgusted with myself for even thinking that, but it’s true. He was exactly the kind of character I’d absolutely adore--if he wasn’t so ridiculous the rest of the time. I mean, in Bella’s own words, he was: 

The vampire who wanted to be good--who ran around saving people’s lives so he wouldn’t be a monster.

Honestly, that quote makes me get all feelsy on the inside. And I can actually understand why girls would like him. In this book at least and when he’s not driving me insane, Edward is adorable and tragic and amazing. Everything a fangirl’s heart so desperately desires.

4. Baby Jacob (technically 15-year-old Jacob, but whatever):

Move over, Edward. Because Baby Jacob still reigns supreme.

LITTLE JAKEY IS TOO CUTE. HONESTLY, CAN I JUST HUG YOU, DARLING? He was adorable. He really acted like, well, like the kid he was, and I loved it. He added a perfect sense of normalcy to all the craziness going on with everybody else, and it really just made me want to embrace that precious little puppy.

5. ALL THE SECONDARIES: From Charlie to Angela to the entire Cullen clan, all of the secondary characters are actually quite interesting. They all have their own stories and backstories and lives and difficulties... They’re all just fascinating, especially the Cullens, these powerful, majestic, undead beings who practically starve themselves because they don’t want to feel like monsters.

Fluff-bunnies, the lot of them.

6. Edward and Bella’s Romance: YES, OKAY!!! I ADMIT IT!!. I’ve been a staunch Bella-and-Jacob-only shipper for years, but after reading this book, I found that Ed and Bell are actually kind of adorable. If you ignore the fact that they’re both idiots (yeah, Bella starts annoying me later too), they’re... they’re... *gulps down pride* perfect together, okay?????!!! They are. When they’re not being silly and pathetic, Edward is adorable and amusing, Bella is beautiful, sarcastic, and brave, and they just plain make an almost-perfect couple. I MEAN, THEY TALK ABOUT BOOKS, FOR HEART’S SAKE. I could literally ship it right now if they didn’t spend the rest of the time annoying me so much.

Look at them! Just look at them! They are so cute.

7. The Sarcasm: I never would’ve imagined that anything in Twilight could make me laugh. But goodness gracious, Bella can be snippy, in a quite funny kind of way, and Ed’s sarcasm is absolutely gorgeous. The way he jokes about her clumsiness (honestly, her falling into a dryer could happen) is both adorable (look at the cutesies teasing each other!) and amusing (because seriously, she is that clumsy).

“Don’t be offended, but you seem to be one of those people who just attract accidents like a magnet. So… try not to fall into the ocean or get run over or anything, all right?”

Edward said that. Edward-freaking-Cullen said that. It shocked me like you would not believe, and that’s not the only one in there; there is much more sarcasm splattered throughout this book (though in my opinion not nearly enough), and I laughed almost every time.

8. The Writing: I’ve heard some people say that Stephenie Meyer’s writing isn’t good or something crazy like that. I’m here to tell you that that is just that--crazy. Mrs. Meyer is a great writer (either that or she has a fantastic editor), and if you don’t believe me, feast your eyes on this bit of description:

I tried to describe impossible things like the scent of creosote—bitter, slightly resinous, but still pleasant—the high, keening sound of the cicadas in July, the feathery barrenness of the trees, the very size of the sky, extending white-blue from horizon to horizon, barely interrupted by the low mountains covered with purple volcanic rock. The hardest thing to explain was why it was so beautiful to me—to justify a beauty that didn’t depend on the sparse spiny vegetations that often looked half-dead, a beauty that had more to do with the exposed shape of the land, with the shallow bowls of valleys between the craggy hills, and the way they held on to the sun.

Seriously, is it possible to not be in love with Phoenix, Arizona after reading that? I don’t think so.

9. The Climax And Final Battle: While they could be adorable, I was beginning to get sick of the romance issue being totally solved when BOOM, James sprung up on the scene and tried to kill Bella. And this part, the climax through the ending, it was actually exciting. I already knew everything that would happen, yet the emotion of it all came through so strongly that I was glued to it all over again. I knew it was crazy to be this invested, especially since I already knew the outcome. But I couldn’t help it. From James being a terrifying and sadistic genius, to the Cullens all banding together to protect the useless little human they’d adopted as their own, even to Bella being sort of brave in that stupid, hero-complex kind of way... I liked it. I really liked it. It was exciting and intriguing and.... dare I say it? Almost awesome.

Yes, in case you were wondering, I’m still choking on my swallowed pride.

10. Baby Jacob: Because seriously. He’s too precious.

***

So there you go, the ten things about Twilight that almost turned me into a Twi-hard. Next week, I’ll expand on the things that annoyed me and kept me from falling “irrevocably in love” with the series, but for now, let’s just fangirl: What’s a super fluffy, adorable couple you’ve shipped (or almost shipped) lately? Have you ever read Twilight? What’d you think of it? Ever gone back and reread a book to find that your opinions on it completely changed? Tell me about your experience, and I’ll see you in the comments!

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