Twilight: The Appeal Behind the Teen Favorite

I was in a Borders store a few months ago when the cover of Twilight caught my eye: pale white hands holding a red apple in its open palms. I never heard of the book before and the striking cover alone made me intrigued enough to buy the book. After reading the first few chapters, I am completely entranced with the story and find it hard to put the book down. After finishing the book, I immediately bought the second book in the series. Needless to say, I was hooked. And we're talking about a book geared towards young girls. And though I may be seventeen at heart, I just turned 25.

One of the reasons the book is a huge hit is because of the unlikely love story. Everyone loves forbidden love, though they may admit it or not. Romeo and Juliet, anyone? I believe that it's more romantic that way, when you have to overcome all these obstacles just to be with the person you love. Another factor is the vampire angle. Lots of people have a strange fascination for these blood-sucking creatures and none of these people can fully explain why. I think it's the same idea as being attracted to danger, or playing with fire, so to speak. The last but not the least contributing reasons why people keep coming back for more is how the vampire Edward Cullen is described in the book. His attractiveness was mentioned countless times using all kinds of beautiful adjectives that a mere reader couldn't help but be mesmerized by his beauty. This is also where the book's criticisms come in, branding it a shallow book and teaching the wrong values to young girls. I mean, would Bella still love Edward to the point of giving up everything she has, if Edward looks like your average guy? In its defense, Twilight is still a fantasy book not meant to be compared to real life but as an escape for book lovers, and now, for moviegoers as well. It's a fact that more people watch the movie than read the book. I bet the books sold thousands more after it reached the awareness of millions who watched the movie.