<p>This is an escape from reality. Teenage girl escapism/fantasy. My only problem with the movie is that I thought Jacob was much better looking than Edward.</p>
<p>I totally agree with the poster above that the relationships and behaviors modeled in the Twilight books are awful. And they are not really well written. I read them because once I began I did want to find out how it would end…at least it was that engaging to me, I guess. If my pre-teen daughter wanted to read them, i would read along with her and discuss, as was suggested above.</p>
<p>My youngest child, a daughter, is now in graduate school. She has read the books and I am pretty sure she would agree with my assessment of them. For fun, we went to the first movie together and we laughed…a lot. It was pretty cheesy.</p>
<p>Isn’t the same boy actor who get killed in Harry #4 ? they recycle-reuse-confuse kids further more.</p>
<p>How long are you planning to monitor what your children are reading?</p>
<p>I still do, mine is 17. as I said, I am ESL and now hard to catch up with.
I had to take out cliffs note from the library for Iliad.</p>
<p>What really creeped me out was the scene in the first movie where Bella is in a hospital bed after a horrible injury caused by another vampire (because of her association with Edward). She carries on about never leaving Edward. I can imagine young women with violent and abusive boyfriends saying the same things. “I am not afraid of him” and “he needs me”, “I am the only one who really understands him”.</p>
<p>I read Lolita for the first time when I was 15, and I came out (almost) all right. </p>
<p>I think Twilight might be a little boring for a 6th grader. What is she, like 11? I don’t think she has yet reached that stage when girls throw languishing glances toward perfect looking boys and dream that one of them, with the darkest, deepest eyes, will choose them out of a million and take them far away… heheh!</p>
<p>Lolita is an art.
I just saw DVD of the old movie naked Brooke Shields 12 year old and that was also an art. and became something-else by nasty Richard Prince then had to take it down from the wall because it is now offensive.
Like everything else in life, good/bad books are subjective and just accept, forget about it?
I knew it was bad writing from the first word but read it anyway non stop 200 pages. That’s what bothers me the most.
I will read Jane Austen that’s suppose it was modeled after.
I read “the Emperor’s Children” in disgust but that made me finish war and peace.
Now, there is always positive side.</p>
<p>Young Brook Shields!!! Pretty Baby anyone?</p>
<p>If it’s the writing you’re most concerned about, then you should try to get your daughter into almost anything Victorian. Nice, pretty stories, and what’s important, always appropriate! At least before she’ll take her first college English class! 
I myself began with adventures when I was 9 (Jules Vern, Dumas), crossed over to fantasy by 11 (Stoker, H.G. Wells, some Arthur Conan Doyle, Stevenson, etc) and got into mysteries by 12-13 (Agatha Cristie… I still have a shelf that holds only her books!). Then I stopped reading because I got into a fancy high school and began equating books homework…</p>
<p>Yay book talk!
From the choices you listed, assume we are the same generation.
Well, here is the issue.
My kid is seventeen, thanks to this grandma -she was not his real grandma but of the kid I used to take care of along with my own kid- learn to read well and loves to read even the Iliad, despite my rather poor English.
I learned with my kid, again, thanks to this grandma who had entire golden books and OZ series, first editions Dr. Seuss’ (such beautiful printing job) in her attic.
The kid I took care of is fine but his stepsister who lived across the country wasn’t lucky. She had rough life and had the baby girl (now 6th grade) when she was a teen.
The baby grew up watching soap opera on the couch next to her mom.
Grandma is dead now but extended family all live together,
Holiday comes, it is a joy but more of the duty to send every kids gifts and to honor the grandma, it have been always books I read and liked and think fit with each kids’ (more than few now) interests.
So I have two sets of standard; first, books that easy and so much fun even kids never sit down to read would enjoy and hope the divine grandma that they’d read something else some more.
And second category for my kid or the others who loves to read to expand/deepen their interests.
I have seen these book-y kids also enjoy, I donno the right word, light, entertaining, vacationing, side dish? Say, Artemis Fowl, Ender’s games sort, it could be twilight if they were girls. My kid said the camp counselor he had this summer went to this super intellectual college and everyone was making fun of twilight and read to “discus” its flaw and significance in rotten culture etc… but they are actually hooked and secretly enjoying tremendously yet the counselor himself resisted the urge.</p>
<p>I think, you can be trained and learn to tell the differences and to appreciate Marcella Hazan’s ravioli but sometimes Chef Boyardee is simply what you crave and it’s OK, because we know how to read nutrition labels thanks to the grandma.
I don’t want my kid to be a snob that I am becoming. I didn’t stop him for going back to Captain Underpants when every new episode came out. (but when, is the next one? Anyone know?) </p>
<p>What are you and your kid are reading now?</p>
<p>My daughter and I love to read. Some of the books she loved years ago were The Golden Compass, The Hobbit, The Book Thief, Pride and Prejudice, the Twilight Series, Laura Ingall Wilder books (when younger), To Kill a Mockingbird, The Jungle (high school age) and every once in a while, some typical teen girl book. There is nothing wrong with mixing it up. I sometimes read a classic and then the next time I read a best seller. Just plain read!</p>
<p>Oh no, I’m still in college! 
</p>
<p>The reason why I’ve read these books is because they were all that I had available to me when I was growing up. They belonged to my parents, and I picked them up following their suggestions.</p>
<p>Twilight is totally okay! My friend, who is very much an intellectual, literary type, read all the books and watched the original movie a couple of times by now. She admits this pleasure to be a guilty one, but she says she just can’t help it! All girls share certain aspirations at a certain tender age. ;)</p>
<p>I agree with Onward, there’s no shame in mixing it up! I began reading in English (it’s my 2nd language) thanks to Harry Potter (since translations would be available only months after each book would come out, and I just couldn’t wait to find out what happens!).</p>
<p>Right now I’m trying to read some of the foreign classics (French, Spanish and German). I read a page in the original language, after which I lose my patience and grab the translation. :(</p>
<p>Oh, sorry about that, it have been decades since last time I heard someone talk about Agatha Christie.</p>
<p>Yes, Harry have been very helpful.
When the last book was out, I heard from my friend who could not wait for translated version for another year but would not brave English.
I said I would translate and send to her, why not, it took me more than a month e-mailing chapter a day.
Up to that point, I read everything but never took them seriously but by translating, I realized how thoroughly through and detail oriented JK Rowling’s story plot and character development have been. She must have mapped out everything beforehand and built up nitpicking committee or something in order to achieve this denouement.
It is kids’ book and there were clich</p>
<p>Ummm, okay. Interesting questions…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The problem of course is that Brooke Shields prolly stole a spot at an Ivy from a more deserving student</p>
<p>I heard that she is half or one third smart enough. It was anyway already during her declining years, have pity.</p>
<p>I was in Japanese bookstore yesterday and there are two versions of translated twilight.
one is for grown folks, same cover art each book split in two volumes so small enough to carry around in tiny Japanese purses of Japanese ladies in crowded Japanese trains.
another is for kids, manga cover and illustrations same texts in bit bigger pt. plus reading aid for words that consists hard read chinese letters, complete series split in about dozen volumes so easy on their allowance budget.
Translation is surprisingly upbeat and lovely.
Grownup version is placed along with Da Vinci code facing up in store’s hot spot.
Kid version is on the shelf between Harry and Tolkien,
I think this explains much better where it stands as a literature.
Scarier yet, the store used to have one small corner for manga, now most second floor is taken over by them, about half volumes are geared to US population translated in English.
There are loads of new and old sexy vampire theme ones, “Vampire bond” " Vampire knight" " Vampire high-school" manga books are all packed in plastic bags and you won’t able to peek inside but by scanning cover art, twilight seems rather old news.</p>
<p>How is it in another country, Englnd, Mexico, would it be allowed to publish anywhere or be forbbiden, anyone?</p>
<p>bears and dogs -</p>
<p>Happykid and I have read a lot of the books by Meg Cabot who is best known for “The Princess Diaries”. Many teen girls like them. Check them out at the library and see what you think. They are short, easy reads. Some are written for adults, so you do need to check them carefully.</p>
<p>Like you, I read everything my daughter was reading for many years. I did not read the adventure books about the kid spy (don’t remember the titles), and I haven’t read most of the things she’s been required to read for Honors and AP Lit. because most of those books are famous literary works that she’s willing to read for a grade, but would make me suicidal. How I wish her teachers would include something even remotely tolerable like the Illiad! I’ve also turned Happykid on to mystery novels. One favorite series is the novels about “Aunt Dimity”.</p>
<p>You have good instincts about your gift books. Talk through your needs with the children’s or young adult librarian at your closest public library. They will have lots of good ideas for you!</p>
<p>Happy reading!</p>
<p>Hi
happymom, were you in “4 years of foreign language” thread? if so how you been? and please tell’em I am not a ■■■■■ in Hogwart’s girls bathroom.
Thank you for the suggestions. I’ll look into them. Runner up now are “The true meaning of smekday” " From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" " Diary of a wimpy kid" I have a feeling those good meaning folks have same mind set as grandmas and aunts who want to take their 6th grader to American girl place. </p>
<p>I now know that Bella is really really special to Edward, he explained in his secret medow that her sent is like best booze to an alcoholic or heroin to heroin addict. Well, that’s not exactly how he said it but that’s how special and irresistible she is to him. gawk. I am going to read it through, four books and one extra, Is that all it? I got lots to learn. I live here now for good, who knows, one day I might even be a grandma.</p>
<p>I’ve posted in some of the threads on foreign languages, so that might have been me.</p>
<p>My mother-in-law has read all of the Twilight series in Spanish, and is now working on “Host” in a Spanish edition. She really likes them. I don’t have a clue how she found out about them. Personally, I say get a Japanese edition if you think you can read them more quickly. Reading novels in a second language is exhausting.</p>
<p>That makes her a happygrandma! After her rich life experiences and all what does she see in them? Did she hear about it from happygrandkids?
Maybe sometimes reading foreign authors translated make them more interesting, like how people here love 100 years of solitude and/or Murakami’s but very few read the original texts. I have noted natives who read originals love them for somewhat different reasons. There are things hard to get and better not to get culture-wise. something that is norm in one place could be outrageous in other, or vise versa.
My whole point is to look into (fictional yet immensely popular) rural to suburbia American teenage psyche and actions, so I would rather stick to English twilight for its raw vocabulary, speech patterns and such, I don’t think I can tolerate extra cheese Japanese would put on them besides I will be depending on local public library for the source.</p>