The Twilight Saga is probably one of the most discussed book series I have read. The impact seems to either hit people completely the wrong way or exactly the right way, and it doesn’t seem anyone is just ‘in-between’. My opinion of the first book is actually very good.

This book, Twilight, starts with an ordinary girl named Isabella Swan, or Bella. She leaves behind the life she knows to strand herself in Forks, Washington for the rest of her high school years. Her father is chief of police Charlie Swan, who is ecstatic to have his daughter living for him for any degree of permanent time.

Bella meets Edward Cullen and immediately falls in love with the god like boy, but there is a twist. He and his entire family are vampires who sparkle in sunlight. This seems to be the turning point for most of the readers, who state that sparkling vampires are stupid and walk away from the books. I, however, don’t think so.

I have been a fan of vampires my whole life, and I find this change interesting. Honestly, who else would have thought of it? Sparkling vampires are just as possible as vampires who burst into flames in sunlight, and are a whole new concept that I loved exploring. I have seen books of Romeo and Juliet at my library, only a zombie version. If people can read that, they should be able to accept the possibility of a sparkly vampire in this day and age. Just because it is new and different doesn’t mean it’s bad.

Once Bella meets the vampire family of her sparkly boyfriend, she becomes the object of a new vampire’s obsession. He hunts her down to Phoenix, Arizona where he almost kills her. Afterwards, Bella decides she too wants to be a vampire and Edward flat out tells her no, there is no way in hell he is going to kill her. This is where Twilight ends.

The story is told from Bella’s point of view, which is interesting. Bella is an extraordinary human in her observations and her emotions. I liked the writing style and most of the main characters. People claim Edward is a controlling jerk, which could be possible. Outside of Bella’s head, her relationship with the vampire might seem a bit twisted.

Which is a reason I don’t like Edward. At times, his personality seems like he is great guy. The ideal boyfriend. At other times he is controlling, assertive, and otherwise dominant. Bella lets him. I don’t agree or approve of this, but it doesn’t change my opinion of the books. Which is, for the record, that if you take the time to read all of them and disregard the pitiful movie attempts, you could be impressed. You have to have an open mind on the shimmery vampires, but this is not in any way a bad book series.

The next three books continue this adventure with Bella and Edward. I recommend all of them, because these books are real literature.