in my opinion

This is an open letter to Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight series of teen fiction. I'm sorry, but it has absolutely nothing to do with Ecuador; I just have a few strong opinions that I want to express.

Dear Ms. Meyer,

I was not going to read your books. It's not that I thought they weren't worth the time, it's just that I didn't really think I'd be interested in vampires.

Then I saw the movie version of Twilight this weekend, and I was a little hooked. I had to find out what was going to happen next, so I started the novel, with the intention of following it up with the others.

I just finished the novel (in under 24 hours) and while I enjoyed it, I do have one strong issue with the protagonist (?) of the book, Mr. Edward Cullen: his relationship with Bella is extremely unreal. Now granted, I understand that he's a vampire and she's a human, and he is designed to be extremely attractive to lure his victims, but beyond the dazzling looks and so on, he says and does things that are not real life. Real boys/men do not behave that way--the constant compliments, declarations of love, etc.--or at least not sincerely. Once again, I get it: it's fiction, but my main concern here is the unrealistic portrayal of a "good" relationship to the millions of teenage girls (and boys) who are reading this around the world. As a middle school/high school teacher, I understand how impressionable these young students are, and while I'm glad they are reading and enjoying your books, I want them to have a clear picture of what makes a truly "good" relationship, as their judgment is already clouded by raging hormones.

So I guess I'm really saying Congratulations, you did your job well--I am completely hooked by your book. However, I'm warning you, you are now in the same boat as the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson.

Sincerely,
A Realist