The Twilight SagaThe Twilight Saga is about Isabella (Bella) Marie Swan who moves from Arizona to Forks, Washington to live with her father Charlie after her mother gets remarried. While she is there, she falls in love with a century old "vegetarian" vampire named Edward Cullen. Throughout the four books series, they, along with the rest of the Cullens, are forced to deal with a century old feud and treaty with a local werewolf pack, determined nomad vampires, and army of uncontrolable "newborn" vampires and several other obstacles in their relationship.
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When I first learned that Twilight was number five on the list of most frequently challenged books for the year 2009, I assumed it was simply because of how many people hate it. They say that there are several flaws in her characters. People argue that the characters have no depth. Some popular arguments against main character are that she has no personality. Bella seems superficial and weak and plays into the stereotype that women are shallow, flighty, and clueless. Edward, her vampire boyfriend is said to be either too dramatic or a manipulative stalker and Jacob, her best friend plays into the "noble savage" indian stereotype. Stephanie Meyer contradicts herself in her writing several times in her books making many people think that the books are poorly written and thought out. She also angered a few people because of the lack of research she did. While the setting is a real place, she created a the local indian tribe that isn't real . If you look up The Twilight Saga on the internet, you will probably find lists of reasons to hate the twilight saga, and you may even find a book burning (or several) as I did in my research. However, it seems that for as many people who hate the series, twice as many love it.
The Twilight series is very popular worldwide, especially with teenage girls. Before the fourth book was published, the movie version of the first book came out in theatres. The first movie almost parallels the book, and with popular actors such as Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, it let to a boost in the already humongous fan base. There were adds to see the movie everywhere. There were twilight dolls and kids toys being sold. Of course, with the movie sales also came more books sales. The vampire romance novel had so many fans, that it is said that there was a twilight craze. With the twilight craze going around, even if you didn't read the books you'd have heard about it. Naturally, the craze worried people, which is why teachers at Santa Sabina College in Australia ran a seminar for sixth years to discuss the themes of the books when the twilight craze was going around. People worried about how the books and craze itself would affects everyone, and that worry led to actions.
According to the ALA, the most reoccuring reasons that The Twilight Saga is banned are because they are sexually explicit , unsuited to its age group and show a religious viewpoint. I can understand why they would be banned because of its religious viewpoint. Stephanie Meyer is proud Mormon and her beliefs (like most authors) are reflected in her writing. The books also glorify vampires as they are perceived as mysterious inhumanly beautiful immortals in which many of the younger fan base appear to want to become. Religious activist didn't like that at all. I don't understand why the books could be banned for being sexually explicit. The main characters are abstinent until marriage, though not without trying in Bella's case. All sex happens behind closed doors, so you can understand why I'm confused. There are many mature themes in the books of course, so I understand why some people might think it is unsuited for certain age groups. The question is, which ones? In many Australian primary schools, the Twilight saga is banned, which actually makes sense. I think most people agree that second graders are generally not mature enough to handle it. What exactly the age limit should be is something people aren't necessarily sure about though.