Meg has been asking to go to the library for a week now. Each day I promised to take her but something more important has been coming up and we didn’t make it to the library till yesterday evening. I had 15 minutes of spare time before I made it to Raul’s class for curriculum night. Not wanting to disappoint her yet again I asked her if that was sufficient time for her to get the book she needed from the library.
Realizing that she just needed one book, we figured we’d be able to make a dash to the library prior to making it to Raul’s school. We reached the library, searched the catalog only to realize that there were 81 requests prior to Meg. The librarian explained that they had 27 copies between their 4 locations and a quick mental math revealed that it would be at least 3 months before Meg could lay her hands on a copy of said book.
The book that is now so much in demand is Twilight (part of the Twilight Saga series) by Stephanie Meyers. It is now being made into a movie and is slated to grace the theatres Dec 2008. As we placed a request for the book and walked out of the library, Meg explained to me that it had to do with Vampires and the fourth book in the series was currently out. She also mentioned that her best friend in class owned the first couple of books and her mom was going to buy her the latest one soon. The librarian in me suggested to her that she should ask her friend if she could borrow the book from her for a week if she is done reading it. Meg accepted my suggestion and promised to ask her at school today.
I could have let it at that but being the sucker for books that I am I could truly understand her craving to read this book. I decided in my mind to check out the title on Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I figured if it wasn’t too expensive I would buy the book for her. It was with that intent that I searched this title at Amazon. And here is what the editorial review had to say about the book…
Amazon.com
“Softly he brushed my cheek, then held my face between his marble hands. ‘Be very still,’ he whispered, as if I wasn’t already frozen. Slowly, never moving his eyes from mine, he leaned toward me. Then abruptly, but very gently, he rested his cold cheek against the hollow at the base of my throat.”
As Shakespeare knew, love burns high when thwarted by obstacles. In Twilight, an exquisite fantasy by Stephenie Meyer, readers discover a pair of lovers who are supremely star-crossed. Bella adores beautiful Edward, and he returns her love. But Edward is having a hard time controlling the blood lust she arouses in him, because–he’s a vampire. At any moment, the intensity of their passion could drive him to kill her, and he agonizes over the danger. But, Bella would rather be dead than part from Edward, so she risks her life to stay near him, and the novel burns with the erotic tension of their dangerous and necessarily chaste relationship.
Meyer has achieved quite a feat by making this scenario completely human and believable. She begins with a familiar YA premise (the new kid in school), and lulls us into thinking this will be just another realistic young adult novel. Bella has come to the small town of Forks on the gloomy Olympic Peninsula to be with her father. At school, she wonders about a group of five remarkably beautiful teens, who sit together in the cafeteria but never eat. As she grows to know, and then love, Edward, she learns their secret. They are all rescued vampires, part of a family headed by saintly Carlisle, who has inspired them to renounce human prey. For Edward’s sake they welcome Bella, but when a roving group of tracker vampires fixates on her, the family is drawn into a desperate pursuit to protect the fragile human in their midst. The precision and delicacy of Meyer’s writing lifts this wonderful novel beyond the limitations of the horror genre to a place among the best of YA fiction. (Ages 12 and up) –Patty Campbell
After reading this I am not sure Meg is old enough for this book yet. It does say it is for ages 12 and older and knowing Meg just turned 11, I am not too convinced. I googled the title to get some answers and as expected the answers are split equally between “yes, it’s ok to read” & “no, it isn’t ok to read.” Some claim that Book 1 and Book 2 are fine but the newer ones are definitely not for 11 yr olds. Knowing Meg, I know she is going to want to read them all once she starts on the first one. I do know that she has a very sane head on her shoulders and is extremely mature. I also know that this friend of hers who owns these books is a sensible kid. But the fact is I still am not convinced.
I have played devil’s advocate in my own head and argued that even if I don’t let her read the book and the details within, she has probably already heard about all the intricate details from her friend. I could let her read it given that according to a few responses, they see more sexual content in the news than they do in the book. I guess I could have a chat with her, explain my concerns to her and request that she let me read the book before I allow her to read it. Or I could trust her to judgment and let her read it. After all, I didn’t have anyone policing the books I read when I was growing up and I turned out just fine. I could also not buy her the book, dissuade her from borrowing it from her friend and wait till she is able to get it from the library. That was I don’t have to worry about it for a few months.
Am I just being a paranoid mom? I am completely confused and unable to make up my mind. Will have to chat with the OH tonight. Anyone reading this, please add your thoughts to the comments section. I would greatly appreciate any advice I can get.
Hi..I came across this post on my tag surfer and thought I’d chime in. I work for a major national bookseller and have read all of the Stephenie Meyer books (against my will) in order to promote parties and facilitate book groups. I’m pretty liberal and believe in talking with kids and allowing them to explore through reading, and I think the first book, Twilight, is probably appropriate for most 12 year olds….the quality of the writing is another story.
Bella and Edward don’t have sex, in fact, they only kiss (and that’s pretty infrequent because it’s too difficult for him to control himself, seeing as how her blood smells delectable and makes her so desirable to him)…in the first book. As the books progress, they have increasingly frank discussions about sex (but still pretty tame, given that the author is Mormon and won’t really allow it) and agree not to do it until they are married.
The first 2 books are probably OK for a 12-year-old, but in the third book, Bella spends a lot of time lamenting the fact that she’s not getting everything that she wants and trying to talk Edward into it (an interesting role reversal), and once they get married in the 4th book, all bets are off, and there are several discussions about how they stay up all night having sex since vampires don’t need sleep. There are no descriptions of the sexual acts, but as the reader, you definitely know what’s going on and that they’re doing it a lot. I thought the 4th book was much less of a young adult book and closer to regular adult fiction because of this content.
I’ve reviewed both Eclipse and Breaking Dawn on my blog. You can find my very detailed review of Breaking Dawn here and it contains a link to the Eclipse review.
If I had a 12-year-old daughter, I’d probably try to hold off on these because as soon as she reads the first one, she’s going to want to read the rest of them…or, you could read them together and take it as it comes.
Good luck!
Sand: Thank you so much for visiting and taking the time to give your feedback. I really appreciate it.
I would buy her the book. We’re sometimes over protective of our kids and forget our own childhood. You know the kids only tell us what they believe we can handle. Sometimes I think they do a better job bringing us up rather than the other way around. Our kids these days have unbelievable access to information (both good and bad) which we couldn’t even dream of back when we were young. Things we used to furtively access behind the school toilets during lunch breaks are available on prime time commercial TV.
I think you should buy her the book and then speak with her about her concerns. That way she will get both the sense of your trust and your concerns.
Sand: That helps Thibs. Love getting your advice. I did chat with her yesterday & felt a lot better after that. I will definitely buy her the book but i know will revisit this before I let her read Book 3 & 4 which I hear are definitely adult content.
[...] back about my dilemma letting Meg read the latest Twilight series that was popular among pre-teens here. After much thought & deliberation, I decided to let her read Book 1 of the series. As expected [...]