It was the vampire novel that took the world by storm. Twilight came out the fall 2005, my senior year of high school, but I didn't read it. There were too many other things that caught my eye, and if I'm honest, it just never sparked my interest. Fantasy, I love it, but supernatural? I was skeptical and didn't feel like I was particularly missing much even though it was all anyone was talking about.
And as people kept talking, the less I felt compelled to read it. In fact, it turned into a desire to avoid it if possible. But then in the spring of 2011 I was taking a YA lit class for grad school and guess what was on the syllabus? I had seen the movie a million years ago, so I had an idea of what was coming, yet I worked really hard to go into this novel with an open mind and give it an honest chance.
The result? It still wasn't for me. I couldn't identify with Bella. Edward didn't really do anything for me. This may have been the book for some people, but not me. Not even close, not even a little, not even at all.
But this post isn't about bashing Twilight or the saga that follows or Stephenie Meyer. Because now it's 2013 and I decided to give her another chance. Sure vampire love stories weren't for me, but I've been seeing the posters, trailers, and ads for the film adaptation of her adult science fiction novel The Host for a few months now and I was intrigued. It only made sense to pick it up. I've been liking sci-fi lately, after all, and maybe it wasn't that I didn't like Meyer's story telling style; just that I didn't like Twilight's story.
And that was it. I'm about halfway through this brick of a novel (600-ish pages, I think) and I'm loving it. I went to see the movie with a friend of mine last weekend and the book is something I'm enjoying just as much if not more. I was actually sad that it wouldn't fit in my messenger bag this morning so I could keep reading during my lunch break. Never thought I'd say that a few years ago, but here we are.
So the moral of my little story? If you're feeling generous, give authors who you maybe didn't care for another chance. I know I've been pleasantly surprised.
Comments welcome, and, as always, happy reading!
I'm so glad you're liking The Host! I haven't read it yet, but I have quite the history with Twilight. :P The first movie came out when I was twelve, and I spent my middle school years obsessed with the series. I'm not really a Twilight fan anymore, but I have to respect that Twilight is the reason I got into YA books, and it's also the reason that Megan and I are best friends. So even though I no longer like Twilight, I'm really glad it exists because it kind of changed my life. :D
ReplyDelete-Rachel