There has been so much hype lately about The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer with the movie and book four coming out. Why does everybody love these books so much? Were my copies of the books switched out? Did I read something else?

At first I enjoyed the books, they were entertaining, but I wondered what all the fuss was. I figured maybe they got better so I picked up the second and third books hoping for something a little more captivating. The second was was also okay, but the third was the worst of the bunch. The more I thought about the books and read some truly amazing young adult fiction (The Book Thief – EXCELLENT!) I realized how terrible these books actually were.

I have to start out by saying that I am NOT a book snob. I can enjoy a nice trashy chick-lit novel just as much as true literature. The one thing I cannot abide though is bad writing. The writing in these books was B.A.D. (Close second to Mary Higgins Clark for the worst writer ever.) There’s not much else to say than that, it was just bad.

As for the story, it was ridiculous, and not because it was about vampires. I can deal with that part. It was just so not believable. The characters were completely unrealistic. The main character, Bella, is a high school student who acts NOTHING like any high school student I have ever come in contact with. (And as a high school teacher, trust me, I’ve come into contact with many.) And the plot, brutal. So stupid, overly dramatic, contrived, immature. It was like she was just grasping at straws, trying to throw as much drama into the plot as possible.

And the books just got worse as the series went on. I almost couldn’t finish the last one and I probably won’t even bother when the fourth one comes out. I was just going to keep my mouth shut but I’ve just been so shocked by the intelligent people that loved these books. Seriously people, what is wrong with you?