Twilight

http://carrotsformichaelmas.com/2012/06/20/why-you-cant-read-twilight-a-letter-to-my-daughter/




Why You Can’t Read Twilight: A Letter to My Daughter

A rebuttal



Sigh.

I know your disclaimer indicates that you would never “ban” a book in your house. I do truly hope this is true for your daughter’s sake. I know households in which the kids were not allowed to read certain pieces of literature for various reasons, and it chills me to think of any other kids having to go through that. Even without the ban, I must criticize you on your arguments for the inactive banning of the Twilight series.

I agree 100%. They are not great books. I read them all, even forcing myself through the final book that you couldn’t even do. I watched the flicks, mostly out of a morbid curiosity to see what all the fuss was about. Some of the characters, such as Bella, were moderately offensive. She is boring and frankly I don’t know how either of the main boys think she is worth pursuing. Don’t even get me started on what “Team” everyone should be on, either, since it is pretty clear that Edward is an idiot and Jacob, although positively adorable in a lot of way, has a freaky temper. Neither one of them seem like a good catch.

Ok, so now that my review is clear, I will still say that I enjoyed the books. They are not books that should be on any kind of required reading list, but I also don’t think they deserve the entire backlash this woman is throwing at them.

Classic literature that has been decided long before I was even born isn’t a fair assessment of how people have evolved. I know that I have never really appreciated anything that Shakespeare has written. My opinion on this doesn’t make me an idiot nor does it make me a less appropriate person to critique other books. Everyone has their own taste, and to discourage your child from reading a book simply because you didn’t think the story is up to certain standards is wrong.

My mom is a very intelligent person. She was a member of Mensa when I was a kid and is witty and remarkable in so many ways. She has recommended several books to me, some of which I loved, some of which I hated. I have presented her with several books, some of which she loved, some of which she hated. One of those books I had her read was Harry Potter. One of the ones she didn’t finish because she didn’t enjoy it was in fact, Harry Potter.

Harry Potter is one of those books I have read over and over, cried over and fell deeply in love with. I am not alone in my love for these characters and people worldwide have been enchanted by Harry and his gang of misfits in their fight against evil. Well respected authors have cited it as an instant classic and I can see this becoming a series much like Lord of the Rings is (as a side note, I couldn’t even get through 5 pages of Lord of the Rings). So how is it that my mother, a woman who reads psychology books for pleasure reading, didn’t get sucked in to this wizarding wonderland?

I don’t know that there is an answer to this question that matters. What is important is that she was allowed to make that decision on her own. She opened the book, read several chapters, and then set it down as she didn’t feel it was worth her time. This doesn’t make her bad. It makes her human, which is what all children should be encouraged to do.

I have read so many books that were mind candy. They were frivolous and silly and ultimately they just made me happy because I didn’t have to think. I have read other books that were deep and insightful and truly touched my soul where I was left exhausted after I was done. All of these books have a place in our lives and this is why I truly believe Twilight, although silly in premise, is a book I would gladly hand over to my daughter if she wanted to read it.

People found The Great Gatsby romantic. I found it creepy. People always look at Charlotte’s Web as EB White’s best book when really, I think Trumpet of the Swan is more poignant. Books are supposed to inspire every individual differently, which allows even the “worst” stories to possibly inspire someone to write better, or read better, or even to be better. If Twilight is so awful as a romance novel and the Austin books so much better, shouldn’t both be read so there is a proper comparison?

My children have many of my qualities. They have many of my husband’s as well. What is great is that they also have some of their very own. I would rather encourage those to grow than to just have a little version of me running around out there. The world already has a me. Now I want it to have a them.