Twilight and Teens

Recently, ALA put out its yearly Teens' Top Ten list for 2008. The list is a good indicator of what teenagers are reading, since teens themselves nominate and choose the books on the list, without much adult influence (or interference, as the teens might say).

The number one pick on the list was Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer, which is the third book in the Twilight series. This series has been featured on the list for the past 2 years and its popularity is so strong that it even beat out Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which has the #2 spot.

People who have heard of the Twilight series's popularity but don't know what it's about are often surprised to hear that it's essentially a vampire romance story. Many adults who hear this get an identical look of mingled surprise and dismay on their faces, especially if they are not fans of horror fiction. Having read and enjoyed all the books in the series, I tell them that the emphasis in the books is on the star-crossed lover theme, rather than violence and blood-sucking and such (although you will find some of that, too). It's also difficult to describe Meyer's writing style, which I found very absorbing despite the leisurely pace of the plot.

Anyway, my point is, if you haven't yet heard of Twilight, you may want to give it a try, even if it's outside of your reading comfort zone. You might like it. Just make sure you don't wait until the day before you want to read it, because the books in the series are never on the library shelves--yes, they're that popular. The only way to get a copy is to reserve it or buy it at the bookstore.