Edward Sparkles, Twilight Sucks

Art by Madelyn Mulreaney

When The Twilight Saga first became popular, my sister and mom read them together. I was only nine years old and far too invested in Matilda and my Nancy Drew mysteries. As middle school approached, my friends started to venture toward young adult books, namely The Hunger Games, Inkheart, and of course Twilight. I picked up the paperback vampire-werewolf drama and, after reading 11 pages, decided I hated it. I returned it to the school library and never looked back. 

Now, after years of resisting, I finally broke down and read Twilight by Stephenie Meyer for the first time after my sister asked me to. She called me laughing after re-reading it because she couldn’t believe how awful it was after 10 years. And, since I can’t say no to my sister, and maybe because I wanted something to laugh at, I picked up Twilight from the Boston Public Library. 

From the start, I despised Bella Swan. Not only is she completely self-absorbed, but she is kind of an asshole. Despite people in Forks trying to welcome her and make her feel comfortable at school, she is constantly insulting the people around her. Bella is particularly rude to Jessica, who just seems like a sweet, extroverted high schooler who wishes her crush would notice her. This issue carries over into Bella’s relationship and treatment of Charlie. The only reason she has for not building a relationship with Charlie is because her mom doesn’t like him. He’s never treated Bella poorly and, honestly, they are more compatible than Bella and her mom. To put it simply, Bella is a brat in the book that I just cannot relate to or feel for. 

Bella’s incessant, whiny attempts to get Edward to bite her neck also rubbed me the wrong way.  She refuses to understand why Edward doesn't want to change her into a vampire. Edward considers himself soulless, cursed to eternal damnation. He loves Bella so much that he cannot imagine putting her through the same psychological torture he has endured over the past century. But all Bella can think of is herself, naturally.

My next issue has to do with Meyer’s portrayal of what a “healthy” relationship looks like. Meyer definitely fetishizes abusive relationships and manipulation—but it’s okay because Edward is so dreamy, mysterious, and sexy. Right? After meeting Edward, Bella consistently ignores red flag after red flag. Edward tells her several times that he is dangerous and a bad guy, but this only seems to make Bella more into him. It’s like she is utterly unconcerned with the threat of being kidnapped and murdered. If I was in high school and a man repeatedly told me to stay away from him because he was scared of what he’d do to me, I’d get out of there so fast. And although ultimately Edward isn’t a murderous creep preying on Bella, the co-dependency between Edward and Bella is just toxic and an unrealistic portrayal of a relationship. 

I also had trouble sympathizing with Bella’s mom Renée. Instead of prioritizing Bella’s happiness and her relationship with her daughter, Renée goes to Florida with her boyfriend Phil. Bella says her mother is “happier” when she is with him, but Bella is happier with her mom. Why wouldn’t they just all move together to Florida? It makes no sense. Going to Forks is completely unnecessary. 

Aside from these less serious issues, I have a lot of difficulty respecting Meyer as an author when she makes indigenous culture such an integral part of her storyline as a white woman. The Quileute are used to drive the plot, without acknowledging their realities. They are also literally depicted as animals, a trope that white media often uses to depict indigenous people as savage and wild. 

Despite the rant above, I did enjoy the book Twilight. Edward Cullen is much more interesting than in the movies. Meyer gives us more information and description about Edward that Robert Pattinson didn’t grip when acting. I also enjoyed Jacob Black more in the book. He is clueless to why the Cullens aren’t liked on the reservation and is never cold to Edward like he is in the movie. 

Overall, reading Twilight wasn’t a terrible experience. I read the whole thing and had a lot of fun talking to my sister about it, so I can’t say I hated it too much. Even so, I do continue to wonder what people love so much about this book, and why it continues to be revered despite the poorly written lead, cultural appropriation, and romanticized abusive relationships.