I finally finished the Twilight series which I started in October. Don't chastise me to bad for being so slow. You must remember that I don't speed read (especially when the book holds little interest to me) and there were birthdays and holidays in that time frame that put reading on the back burner. Also, I read other things in between each book because I felt like I was overdosing on Bella and Edward just a little (okay...a lot)

After finishing the entire series I must say that I'm glad my 10 year didn't take much interest in them. While the first one is more "innocent" than the rest of them I still found the relationship between Edward and Bella disturbing to say the least.

Here are some of the things I liked and disliked about the books.

1. Bella is too dependent on Edward for her happiness. If I could teach my daughters anything about relationships, it would be find their own happiness. Have your own interests, keep your friends and always be yourself.

2. Edward's character is too controlling. He doesn't approve of Jacob and Bella's relationship. He seldom leaves her alone, even while she sleeps. His constant desire to "protect" Bella from Bella, is somewhat disturbing.

3. I have to say I did enjoy the way that Stephenie Meyer gave Bella her gift before she became immortal. Her "shield" or her strength was there all along it was just too bad Bella had to wait until the last 50 pages of the last book to realize it.

4. Don't even get me started on the mother/daughter relationship in this book. As a mother would you ever accept the word of basically strangers regarding your child's health? What amount of bullshit would allow for her mother to just drop out of the book after the wedding? Sorry Bella has some freak disease she contracted on her honeymoon...Sorry she can't talk to you anymore...sorry she was flown to Atlanta for testing by the CDC? WTF? Georgia is a doable drive from Florida. I found this part of the story beyond my realm of believability.

5. Even after Bella becomes immortal, and isn't controlled by her newborn urges, she doesn't make an effort to contact her mother. This woman raised her until just a few short years ago. Again, this storyline is not believable.

6. The sex in these books is not explicit, but obviously implied. Every euphemism for the actual act is utilized. I'm not kidding myself that most of Meyer's teen readers aren't thinking about this or even already acting upon it. However, what I found most disturbing about these references was what little restraint Bella showed. Edward was the one who wanted to wait, but not for the noble reason of abstinence, but because he was afraid his massive strength might kill her in the throws of passion. Spare me.


7. I rooted for Jacob throughout most of the books. I really wanted Bella to choose a different life path. When it became obvious that her course would not change, I was impressed with Meyer's ability to still provide a satisfactory ending. While I found the imprinting storyline to be a bit unbelievable, and the fact that the werewolves could imprint at such a young age disturbing, I was happy when Jacob's feelings for Bella changed into friendship.

In the long run, I'm glad that I finished the entire series. Would I read it again? No. Would I see the movie? Maybe on DVD