Dear Stephenie Meyer,
First I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my letter. It means a lot to me. In this letter, I would like to explain why I do not like the Twilight series and how it did have room for improvment.
The main problem I had with the series is how Bella and Edward's love is shown to be ideal, when in fact, it's unhealthy. Throughout the books, we do not get any insight on their hobbies and likes/dislikes. The problem with this is that we do not know if Edward or Bella share any common interests to be considered perfect for each other. In fact, they only had four conversations before they both decided they were in love. In real life, love does not happen that way. Yes, couples do sometimes meet randomly, but they do not immiedatly decide they are perfect for each other. Edward is also a very abusive partner. He doesn't let Bella make any decisions and often babies her. He is inhumanly strong, so she is forced to go along with him. An example of this would be when he threatned to take her back to the car, when she clearly did not want to. He also seems to not care about her opinions which is shown in Breaking Dawn. He stated that the only reason he's letting Bella have this child is because Rosalie loves children. Doesn't Bella have opinions too? What if she still wanted the child, when Rosalie didn't? Would he listen to her? Although it's for her well-being, she gets a say because it's Bella that's having the child, not Edward. Another problem is that Edward watches Bella while she sleeps and follows her around. You could say this is because he cares for and wants to protect her, but this is after having four conversations. This is teaching many young girls that the ideal partner will do the same for them, but in reality, those people are stalkers who are probably in jail. You have compared Bella and Edward's relationship to be like Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare wrote that play to mock teenage hormones and what stupid decisions they make. Which brings me to the point that Edward and Bella do not like each other for their personalities. Why does Edward like Bella? He said that she smells good and he's curious as to why he can't hear her thoughts. Why does Bella like Edward? In every book she describes his beauty. Never did they mention each other's characteristics that they are attracted to.
I also have a bit of a problem with how Bella treats her friends. In book one, they invite her to sit with them. Mike invites her to La Push and everyone is friendly. Bella didn't think much of it, forgetting their names the second they were said and feeling irritated. Bella said she didn't have many friends before, so wouldn't she be thrilled that someone is actually paying attention to her? The second Edward starts paying attention to her, she completley forgets about them. In book two, when he leaves, she doesn't talk, eat, her grades drop. The world ends. The only reason she decided to talk to Jessica was because Charlie told her to. She, after behaving horribly and not acting like a good friend, expects Jessica to be there for her and blames Jessica for acting like a horrible friend. Why would it be Jessica's fault? She was ticked off that Bella ignored her for about 4-6 months! In book three, Bella describes the graduation to be boring and irritating, when in fact, it's the proudest moment you could ever have. She also decides to barely talk to her friends and give all her attention to Edward. I have not fallen in love yet, but I am fully aware of that the fact that people do not ditch their friends once they have found their missing piece.
Lots of people accuse Twilight of being anti-feminist and I have to agree. Bella is incapable of doing anything and the only brave thing she has done is 'saving' her mother. In every book Edward is there to save her somehow. In book one, she would have died , but Edward showed up. I do give her props for delaying her death, but otherwise, she is very weak. In book two, she goes through emotional problems. She, again, is able to do nothing until a Jacob helps. In book three, helps a little, but still leans on Jacob and Edward. She also doesn't make any decisions for herself. What she does for fun is cook and clean, but girls these days are independent. We have more hobbies than doing chores for our fathers.
Also, nothing troubling happens in the series. The apple on the book is representing "forbidden love." The only thing that is not possible in the relationship is that Edward is a vampire, but Bella is not. This problem is a very simple one and can get solved easily. She wants to become one, but Edward thinks it's unsafe. Through the series they face James, Volturi, Laurent, and Victoria. The Cullens are described to be very smart. In book three, they killed a new born army. Why did they make a complicated plan just to kill James? It was highly unreasonable and they put many lives at stake. James was not very powerful. It was seven against one. No one had any casualties except James. Book two, Laurent got killed easily and Jacob was not injured. The Volturi let them off. Book three, I do understand the vampires were NOT trained, but honestly. They should/could have faced a few injuries and/or deaths (not just Jacob.) In book four, they talk it out. Yes, deaths do make many series sad and sometimes unbearable to read, but that is what makes something memorable. In real life, many people have to make sacrifices and they give their lives to something they believe in. Happy endings do exist, but a lot of stuggle is behind it.
Jacob was one of my favorite characters. He always wanted the best for Bella and I really liked how he did seem to genuinly care about her. However, in book four, he became a pedophile. I know that you can imprint on anyone and it would be okay, but it is very sick and twisted when a 17 year old falls in love with a newborn. Jacob said he'd be an adult figure and then later, when she's old enough, he'd be a love-interest. This is another thing that breaks the law. Child grooming. Child grooming is taking care of a child as if they are your own until they become older and trust you, then acting like a romantic interest. This child will believe you because you have been in their lives from since they were born. Jacob being a supernatural being does not excuse this horrible fact.
Many writers had a problem with your writing style. You used something a writer calls, "purple prose." This is when you use bigger words to make the sentence seem more educated. It ruins a simple sentence and makes sentences very odd to read. Another problem is with your main character, Bella Swan. She is accused of being a mary-sue. This is a term for a perfect character. Nothing bad happens to this character, everything mean/rude they say is justified, they are beautiful and more than one person is in love with them, they have a troubled past that they cannot forget, they have many friends, their significant other is incredibly handsome - someone who everyone lusts after, and most of the time, they have an amazing ability. Nothing bad happens to this character - Yes, Bella does go through a lot of problems with the antagonists, but these problems are solved quickly. She does not go through any inner struggle to gain happiness. Everything mean they say is justified - Bella is rude to Jessica, but Bella is shown in better light. She lashes out on Charlie, but he forgives her without an explanation. Yeah, she only gets to spend time with Edward 'till 6pm, but that's not a punishment. She went to Italy without his permissions just to save the boy who broke her heart causing her to be in severe trauma. Unexcusable. She yells at Jacob, but Jacob is okay with it and believes he deserves it. They are beautiful and more than one person is in love with them - Bella is described to be an average Jane. So why do Mike, Tyler, Eric, Jacob, and Edward all love her? In Midnight Sun he even said that every guy was having fantasies about her. Why do so many people love her when she is nothing special? She sounds very annoying when she replies 'modestly' that she is not beautiful. Why didn't she pick Mike? He was nice to her and supported her. He was worried because Edward was very creepy and anti-social. Why didn't she pick Eric? She described him looking like someone from the chess club. (See? She judges on appearance.) What about Tyler? Okay, so he did almost kill her, but she said it was okay. What was wrong with him? He almost killed her! Maybe that's why he didn't leave her back. He wanted to make sure it didn't happen again. No one can forget almost killing someone. They have a troubled past that they cannot forget - Bella was an outcast and she never really had the money. Her mother also is in love with a guy that Bella doesn't really approve of. Since she was little, she visited Charlie which she described as being a horrible experience. They have many friends - she instantly had many friends from the day she arrived. Almost everyone was thinking about her. You could say this is because Forks is a small town, but I live in a small town too. Whenever someone new comes (which rarely happens) none of us have open arms. We are all teenagers and have our cliques. We don't like newcomers just barging in. Their significant other is incredibly handsome - someone who everyone lusts after - everyone thinks Edward is very cute, whether they openly admit it or not. They have an amazing ability - Bella is able to control her blood-lust from day one. She always felt giddy when she saw blood, so why is that her ability? She also has the most powerful power, being able to shield everyone mentally. Why does she have a more powerful one? The Volturi are the people who keep everything in control, shouldn't they be the more powerful ones?
Many plot holes can be found too. How is Nessie alive? Shouldn't she be dead since she would want to suck out her own blood? Why can't Leah imprint? Why is the time of the month considered okay and 'dead blood.' Blood is blood, unless it is dried up. How can Bella get pregant if Edward's body only has venom and he is extrememly cold? On cloudy days, the sun still streams though (otherwise we'd be facing darkness) - so why do they not sparkle then? The sun can't hit something directly otherwise things would be burning everywhere. Sparkly vampires?
Your vampires are also differant - this could be counted as creativity. Mythology states them being blood-thirsty, deep, mysterious, sexy, seductive, dangerous .. etc. They do not feel which is why they don't feel much remorse after killing people. That is what makes them very scary, however your vampires have powers, sparkle, have the ability to love, are veggiterians (which I found wrong because animals aren't thrown in the wild just for eating) etc .. Many differences.
I would like to apologize if this hurt your feelings; for that is not what I was intending to do. I wanted to state the things I and many other people did not like in your series. Contructive criticism is always helpful. Thank you for your time,
Draco Luver (not my real name! lol)
First I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my letter. It means a lot to me. In this letter, I would like to explain why I do not like the Twilight series and how it did have room for improvment.
The main problem I had with the series is how Bella and Edward's love is shown to be ideal, when in fact, it's unhealthy. Throughout the books, we do not get any insight on their hobbies and likes/dislikes. The problem with this is that we do not know if Edward or Bella share any common interests to be considered perfect for each other. In fact, they only had four conversations before they both decided they were in love. In real life, love does not happen that way. Yes, couples do sometimes meet randomly, but they do not immiedatly decide they are perfect for each other. Edward is also a very abusive partner. He doesn't let Bella make any decisions and often babies her. He is inhumanly strong, so she is forced to go along with him. An example of this would be when he threatned to take her back to the car, when she clearly did not want to. He also seems to not care about her opinions which is shown in Breaking Dawn. He stated that the only reason he's letting Bella have this child is because Rosalie loves children. Doesn't Bella have opinions too? What if she still wanted the child, when Rosalie didn't? Would he listen to her? Although it's for her well-being, she gets a say because it's Bella that's having the child, not Edward. Another problem is that Edward watches Bella while she sleeps and follows her around. You could say this is because he cares for and wants to protect her, but this is after having four conversations. This is teaching many young girls that the ideal partner will do the same for them, but in reality, those people are stalkers who are probably in jail. You have compared Bella and Edward's relationship to be like Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare wrote that play to mock teenage hormones and what stupid decisions they make. Which brings me to the point that Edward and Bella do not like each other for their personalities. Why does Edward like Bella? He said that she smells good and he's curious as to why he can't hear her thoughts. Why does Bella like Edward? In every book she describes his beauty. Never did they mention each other's characteristics that they are attracted to.
I also have a bit of a problem with how Bella treats her friends. In book one, they invite her to sit with them. Mike invites her to La Push and everyone is friendly. Bella didn't think much of it, forgetting their names the second they were said and feeling irritated. Bella said she didn't have many friends before, so wouldn't she be thrilled that someone is actually paying attention to her? The second Edward starts paying attention to her, she completley forgets about them. In book two, when he leaves, she doesn't talk, eat, her grades drop. The world ends. The only reason she decided to talk to Jessica was because Charlie told her to. She, after behaving horribly and not acting like a good friend, expects Jessica to be there for her and blames Jessica for acting like a horrible friend. Why would it be Jessica's fault? She was ticked off that Bella ignored her for about 4-6 months! In book three, Bella describes the graduation to be boring and irritating, when in fact, it's the proudest moment you could ever have. She also decides to barely talk to her friends and give all her attention to Edward. I have not fallen in love yet, but I am fully aware of that the fact that people do not ditch their friends once they have found their missing piece.
Lots of people accuse Twilight of being anti-feminist and I have to agree. Bella is incapable of doing anything and the only brave thing she has done is 'saving' her mother. In every book Edward is there to save her somehow. In book one, she would have died , but Edward showed up. I do give her props for delaying her death, but otherwise, she is very weak. In book two, she goes through emotional problems. She, again, is able to do nothing until a Jacob helps. In book three, helps a little, but still leans on Jacob and Edward. She also doesn't make any decisions for herself. What she does for fun is cook and clean, but girls these days are independent. We have more hobbies than doing chores for our fathers.
Also, nothing troubling happens in the series. The apple on the book is representing "forbidden love." The only thing that is not possible in the relationship is that Edward is a vampire, but Bella is not. This problem is a very simple one and can get solved easily. She wants to become one, but Edward thinks it's unsafe. Through the series they face James, Volturi, Laurent, and Victoria. The Cullens are described to be very smart. In book three, they killed a new born army. Why did they make a complicated plan just to kill James? It was highly unreasonable and they put many lives at stake. James was not very powerful. It was seven against one. No one had any casualties except James. Book two, Laurent got killed easily and Jacob was not injured. The Volturi let them off. Book three, I do understand the vampires were NOT trained, but honestly. They should/could have faced a few injuries and/or deaths (not just Jacob.) In book four, they talk it out. Yes, deaths do make many series sad and sometimes unbearable to read, but that is what makes something memorable. In real life, many people have to make sacrifices and they give their lives to something they believe in. Happy endings do exist, but a lot of stuggle is behind it.
Jacob was one of my favorite characters. He always wanted the best for Bella and I really liked how he did seem to genuinly care about her. However, in book four, he became a pedophile. I know that you can imprint on anyone and it would be okay, but it is very sick and twisted when a 17 year old falls in love with a newborn. Jacob said he'd be an adult figure and then later, when she's old enough, he'd be a love-interest. This is another thing that breaks the law. Child grooming. Child grooming is taking care of a child as if they are your own until they become older and trust you, then acting like a romantic interest. This child will believe you because you have been in their lives from since they were born. Jacob being a supernatural being does not excuse this horrible fact.
Many writers had a problem with your writing style. You used something a writer calls, "purple prose." This is when you use bigger words to make the sentence seem more educated. It ruins a simple sentence and makes sentences very odd to read. Another problem is with your main character, Bella Swan. She is accused of being a mary-sue. This is a term for a perfect character. Nothing bad happens to this character, everything mean/rude they say is justified, they are beautiful and more than one person is in love with them, they have a troubled past that they cannot forget, they have many friends, their significant other is incredibly handsome - someone who everyone lusts after, and most of the time, they have an amazing ability. Nothing bad happens to this character - Yes, Bella does go through a lot of problems with the antagonists, but these problems are solved quickly. She does not go through any inner struggle to gain happiness. Everything mean they say is justified - Bella is rude to Jessica, but Bella is shown in better light. She lashes out on Charlie, but he forgives her without an explanation. Yeah, she only gets to spend time with Edward 'till 6pm, but that's not a punishment. She went to Italy without his permissions just to save the boy who broke her heart causing her to be in severe trauma. Unexcusable. She yells at Jacob, but Jacob is okay with it and believes he deserves it. They are beautiful and more than one person is in love with them - Bella is described to be an average Jane. So why do Mike, Tyler, Eric, Jacob, and Edward all love her? In Midnight Sun he even said that every guy was having fantasies about her. Why do so many people love her when she is nothing special? She sounds very annoying when she replies 'modestly' that she is not beautiful. Why didn't she pick Mike? He was nice to her and supported her. He was worried because Edward was very creepy and anti-social. Why didn't she pick Eric? She described him looking like someone from the chess club. (See? She judges on appearance.) What about Tyler? Okay, so he did almost kill her, but she said it was okay. What was wrong with him? He almost killed her! Maybe that's why he didn't leave her back. He wanted to make sure it didn't happen again. No one can forget almost killing someone. They have a troubled past that they cannot forget - Bella was an outcast and she never really had the money. Her mother also is in love with a guy that Bella doesn't really approve of. Since she was little, she visited Charlie which she described as being a horrible experience. They have many friends - she instantly had many friends from the day she arrived. Almost everyone was thinking about her. You could say this is because Forks is a small town, but I live in a small town too. Whenever someone new comes (which rarely happens) none of us have open arms. We are all teenagers and have our cliques. We don't like newcomers just barging in. Their significant other is incredibly handsome - someone who everyone lusts after - everyone thinks Edward is very cute, whether they openly admit it or not. They have an amazing ability - Bella is able to control her blood-lust from day one. She always felt giddy when she saw blood, so why is that her ability? She also has the most powerful power, being able to shield everyone mentally. Why does she have a more powerful one? The Volturi are the people who keep everything in control, shouldn't they be the more powerful ones?
Many plot holes can be found too. How is Nessie alive? Shouldn't she be dead since she would want to suck out her own blood? Why can't Leah imprint? Why is the time of the month considered okay and 'dead blood.' Blood is blood, unless it is dried up. How can Bella get pregant if Edward's body only has venom and he is extrememly cold? On cloudy days, the sun still streams though (otherwise we'd be facing darkness) - so why do they not sparkle then? The sun can't hit something directly otherwise things would be burning everywhere. Sparkly vampires?
Your vampires are also differant - this could be counted as creativity. Mythology states them being blood-thirsty, deep, mysterious, sexy, seductive, dangerous .. etc. They do not feel which is why they don't feel much remorse after killing people. That is what makes them very scary, however your vampires have powers, sparkle, have the ability to love, are veggiterians (which I found wrong because animals aren't thrown in the wild just for eating) etc .. Many differences.
I would like to apologize if this hurt your feelings; for that is not what I was intending to do. I wanted to state the things I and many other people did not like in your series. Contructive criticism is always helpful. Thank you for your time,
Draco Luver (not my real name! lol)
