Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (replaced The Monsters of Templeton for the US for Orbus Terrarum; read for Herding Cats)
Is there really anything left to say about this juggernaut? Suddenly it seems to be everywhere. I don't usually read books because of hype _ four of the Harry Potter books had come out before I read the first one _ but I was very curious about this after having seen it all over the place.
Now, I'm 37, so I admit I'm not really the target audience for Twilight. Having said that, I did like it. I didn't love it, but I did like it. I liked Bella; I liked the fact she's not portrayed as a typical teenager, and she's original and quirkly.
Sorry, but I couldn't stand Edward. That moodiness would have been enough to make me smack him upside of the head. I can't be doing with moody men. And the endless description of the weather in Forks. I get that the vampires live there because it's cloudy and rainy most of the time and they sparkle (literally) in the sun but did we need to be reminded over and over and over again of it? Really?
Apart from that, I liked Edward's family. I liked the sense of this group of outsiders coming together and forming such a strong bond.
Some of the action sequences were a bit cliched; especially the Bella-in-danger-in-a-strange town one where Edward "just happens" to save her.
So Twilight _ good, but not great.
