Twilight And The Urban Fantasy Phenomenon

The Article below is written by Andrew Hawnt, taken from www.articlebase.com

The huge success of the Twilight books, written by Stephanie Meyer, and the subsequent feature film adaptation starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, has brought the Urban fantasy genre to the forefront of genre publishing. SF and fantasy purists may disapprove, but we must all appreciate the fact that Twilight, and things like Buffy before it, have been good for genre publishing as a whole. Why? Because series such as Twilight, Harry Potter and similar franchises are bringing more readers to the genres that spawned them. While these books may not be the best written or best plotted things on the market, they are opening up the minds of young readers to the realms of fantastic fiction in all its forms. Look at it this way: The Twilight books are finite, and once young readers have finished reading the series, they will look for similar titles to read until the next Twilight book comes along. These could be the dark fairy-tales of Neil Gaiman, the vampire hunter books of Laurel K Hamiltion, the varied urban fantasy of Kelley Armstrong, or the excellent vampire novels of S. Roit (aka Sherry Roit), such as the impeccable Paris Immortal. Many bookshops now contain a dedicated Urban Fantasy or Paranormal Romance section, and while SF and fantasy purists such as myself may have our issues with their contents, these books are bringing a new audience into an industry that desperately needs new readers. Some argue that this is not the case, with Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy readers sticking to similar titles once their favourite series comes to an end, but many of these people will move on to other titles as they mature and their tastes change. The paranormal and fantasy genres have always gained from the addition of popular movie tie-ins and movies themselves, and rather than being empty, vapid pieces of trash fiction, they are the doorway to a universe of wonder for new readers to discover. The same goes for movie and TV tie-in merchandise and tie-in novels from franchises such as Star Wars, Doctor Who, Star Trek, Buffy and so on- they help strengthen the publishing industry by offering brand familiarity to people who may not usually read. Twilight has brought a number of young teenaged readers new icons in Edward and Bella, but there are so many other characters and stories for them to discover. See Twilight as a stepping stone to greater things, and welcome the new fans that stick around into the genres of fantasy, science fiction and horror with open arms.

Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1) by Stephenie Meyer

This is a review about Twilight Book.

As an ELA teacher at a middle school in Hawai`i, I am always searching for novels that will appeal to the students that enter my classroom each day. I had not found one, until I read "Twilight" for a University of Hawai`i literacy course. This book not only reaches each individual reader on an individual level, but it appeals to the masses. I compare the series very much to that of the "Harry Potter" novels, in that people who pick these books up cannot put them down.

The main character, Bella, escapes her previous life and falls desperately in love with a vampire named Edward. While this plot does not seem realistic at all, it is written in a way that, unless you knew that vampires were not real (or are they...), you would believe every single word. As the first book of the series of four progresses, you begin to see the bond and the infatuation that Bella and Edward have for each other, and you become very attached to the characters. Their emotions are vividly painted on every page, as Meyer does an amazing job at portraying their love affair.

For the students in my class, they cannot even put it down. Just this past Friday I caught two girls reading under their desk (which puts me in quite a conundrum, seeing that I am advocating for their reading; however class is important as well). One girl was reading "Twilight" and the other "New Moon." I had never seen them so wrapped up in a story, and this was certainly the first time one of my students was ever so focused! We finished our work, and for the last 10 minutes of class we were going to watch a movie to find certain speech elements in it (kind of a reward too). The two girls asked if they could sit outside the classroom and read, as they couldn't concentrate with the movie going. I could not believe it!

"Twilight" comes under some fire by critics (specifically my co-teacher) as being too sappy and a somewhat "weak fictional read." But, my response to that is that Meyer's target audience for this book is not 25 year old women, but rather 15 year olds. Even boys can't get enough of the book (me being one of them). If it is understood that this novel was written on the account that younger girls would be reading it more so than women in their twenties, I think we can all agree that it has been one of the biggest reading hits in the past year or two. Meyer's website offers up some interesting information about why she wrote it. She says that her ideas initially came from a dream she was having about the characters, and what evolved was "Twilight." At some points, she could not sleep, and she often had to jump out of bed with ideas for characters and their personalities. No wonder the book is such a good read; the author could not even sleep when she was writing it!

I recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read, but especially ELA teachers who have struggling readers. Put this book in their hands (if it is their level) and watch them get swallowed up by the hysteria that surrounds the series. You will end up having to get them the other three in the set!

Review by: Alex D. Teece