Why I Hate Twilight

Warning: This post includes spoilers on the series, so if you don't already know what happens in all the books, don't read this!

It's come to my attention that I may come across as a Twilight hater. Well... yeah. I am. I despise the series. But it didn't have to be that way.

I didn't start out hating the Twilight books. I was never a die-hard fan, but I didn't outright hate the series, either (I wouldn't own copies of all four books if that were the case). I reviewed all four books on Amazon, and my star ratings were as follows:

Twilight - 3
New Moon - 3
Eclipse - 2
Breaking Dawn - 1 (zero, really... but Amazon doesn't let you give zero stars)

I had hoped to be able to give Breaking Dawn a higher rating. Sadly, that wasn't the case. The author dropped the ball. She blew it. And I, as a reader and a consumer who paid money for that book, have every right to be annoyed.

There's a book on writing by Bill Johnson called A Story Is A Promise. I think that phrase is very appropriate here, as it underscores the reason why Breaking Dawn failed to live up to people's expectations. Multiple promises were made throughout the course of the "saga" that led readers to expect certain things. When those things didn't happen, people were understandably upset. It's not a matter of being old, bitter, unloved, or a happy-ending-hater (all excuses I've seen Stephenie Meyer's defenders throw about). It was a betrayal on the part of the author.

Had Meyer kept her promises to the reader, Breaking Dawn would have turned out very differently. There would have been no baby. There would have been at least one instance of newborn bloodlust on Bella's part -- maybe she would have attacked Charlie or one of her high school friends. One or more major characters would have died. All of these things were explained, hinted at, or foreshadowed in the first three books. Vampires can't have babies (it's part of the reason Rosalie's so... bitchy); newborn vampires can't be trusted to control their urges (look at the havoc Victoria's army of the undead wreaked in Eclipse); the Volturi are dangerous and could eliminate any vampire at any time if they disapprove of their actions (we see this with minor characters throughout the series). To foreshadow these events and then not follow through is breaking a promise to the reader. Those events then become pointless, just empty words to take up space and increase the page count. The conclusion is ultimately hollow, and the ending doesn't make much sense.

Another reason I hate Twilight is the whole phenomenon that's sprung up around the series. There are proms, conventions, tours of Forks, bookmarks, board games, t-shirts, movies, and school curricula (don't even get me started there; the only reason anyone should be studying Twilight in an English class is as an example of how not to write a book). There are the endless comparisons with other books, trying to convince readers that if they like Twilight, they'll love this other book, too. To me, especially in the case of Wuthering Heights, it just seems like a money grab. It doesn't matter if it's "Bella & Edward's Favourite Book". It's still Wuthering Heights, and it's not that easy to read. And while it is about a very dysfunctional relationship (as Twilight is), it's not at all geared to the same reading audience. All an endorsement like this will do is get people to buy the book; it won't necessarily get them to read it. Poor Emily Brontë. She's probably spinning in her grave.

Finally, I just want to clear one thing up. Just because I hate Twilight does not mean I hate people who like Twilight. My opinion of the series does not necessarily equal my opinion of the people who like it. But I will not apologize for having an opinion on the books, nor will I temper that opinion. I have as much right to hate the books (and say so) as someone else has to love them (and say so). And that goes for any book... not just Twilight.