false 2 0 false false Sat Oct 25 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 23 09:36:18 -0700 2008 Sat Oct 25 08:35:33 -0700 2008
1. I've been on a young adult novel kick lately. Maybe it's because I feel like I'm perpetually a twelve year old. Also, there's quite a bit good young adult fiction out there.

2. I needed a little break from the intensity of Philip K. Dick...

3. It's a fairly popular series. I resisted Harry Potter for so long, and wound up liking it. Thought I would have the same luck here.

4. I like vampires. I read Dracula when I was 11 or 12, and one of my favorite series from my youth was The Vampire Diaries. This didn't really add to or reinvent the genre... didn't really tell the same old story in an interesting way, either.

None of these reasons really panned out. The only thing this book was good for was schmultz. Not necessarily a bad thing, mind you, but you need to be in the mood for it. There's very little plot, and a whole lot of exposition. Again, that can be okay at the least when it's written well. However, when all you gain is back and forth questioning between the protagonists (am I better person for knowing that Bella's favorite color is brown?), that leaves a little to be desired.

And yet, I might wind up reading all the books in the series. It's like watching an episode of Friends or binging on junk food. It's not good, not even a guilty pleasure... but I still want to. Bleh.


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