Twilight By Stephanie Meyer

Book Title:  Twilight

Author:  Stephanie Meyer

Genre:   Romance Fiction

Summary/Review

Twilight is about a 17-year old girl named Bella Swan who was madly in love with Edward Cullen, who came from a Vampire family. This feeling came after her life was saved by Edward who exhibited super human qualities. She later learned from a friend, Jacob Black, that Edward was a vampire. Yet, despite this truth, she went against the advice of her friends, family and even of Edward not to be with him lest she would be attacked by blood-thirsty vampires.

This story became a blockbuster not only to teenagers but also to adults. Both age groups could relate to the story, since the genre is a mixture of fantasy and romance. It’s a universal behavior among female teenagers and even across ages to be swept-off their feet upon seeing their Knights on a shining armor, as was the case of Bella whose life was saved by Edward. It is equally a universal feeling for adults to love romantic stories as they could easily relate to this kind of feeling adults have presumably experienced such emotion. It is a common behavior among teenagers to do what they are prohibited from doing. In fact Bella was cautioned to keep her distance from Edward for fear that she would be attacked by the vampires. But she didn’t. In short, what is a “no-no” to teenagers, is a “do-or die” to them. And this is Bella’s character in this story – an impulsive, adventurous and passionately in love and defiant girl.

As for Edward, who is an adult, he exhibits a behavior of a  thinking adult who is able to put his intellect (reason) over his heart (emotion). His love for Bella made her very cautious and protective of her. He didn’t transform Bella into a vampire which he could easily do if he wished, in so doing, they could have eternal love and live happily forever after. But, he didn’t do this despite his being a vampire, his human attributes prevailed  over his animalistic or cannibalistic attitude. The moral or ethical implications as a consequence, if Bella is turned into a vampire that she would be able to fight her new instincts to hunt human as a vampire made Edward decide not to transform her into one. And this decision will result to a constant and conflict of suppressing emotions between a human girlfriend and a vampire boyfriend.

Awards

           A New York Times Editor’s Choice Award

              A Publisher’s Weekly “Best Book of the Decade"

           A Teen People “Hat List” Pick

           An American Library Association “Top Ten Best Book For Young Adults” 

                    And “Top Ten Books for Reluctant Readers.”  

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Title:  The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Author:  Stephen Chbosky

Publisher:  MTV Books

Publication Date:  1999

Pages:  256p

ISBN:  0-61-0274-4

Summary/Review

 

The Perks of Being a Wallflower tells the story of a 16-year-old teenage boy , Charlie ,who writes letters to an anonymous friend, sharing his heart and soul, almost like he is writing his letters to us, his readers.  He writes about how it is like to grow up in high school, how he hated  going to his first day in school and how he navigates his way out of the awkward stages of adolescence.

Charlie, the main character, is described by other people as too shy,  socially  awkward, and an unconventional thinker, hence the “wallflower” title. Wallflower is someone who is too awkward or too bland to be worthy of noticing, going through life like a bystander. A lot of teenagers could  relate and connect to Charlie, feeling like wallflowers. 

The novel captures the confused and bemused life of an adolescence and all the things that come with growing up. The author explores briefly topics such as suicide, drugs, smoking, molestation,  and friends.  The plot takes place in the suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the 1991-1992 school year, when Charlie is a freshman in high school.

I can attribute the popularity of this novel to the story’s theme which is full of teachable nuggets and  life lessons. Examples: 

“Things change, and friends leave. Life doesn’t stop for anybody.”(page 145)

“But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there” (page 211)

                    

Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman

Title:  Maus : A Survivor’s Tale

Author  Illustrator: Art Spiegelman

Publisher: Pantheon; 1st edition (August 12, 1986)

ISBN-10: 0394747232

ISBN-13: 978-0394747231

Publication Date:  1987

Pages:  160 p (pbk.)

Summary/Review

Maus is a comic book that tells the story of Art’s Spigelman’s father, his experiences in German concentration camps during the Holocaust, a World War II story.

In Maus, human creatures are portrayed as animals. With mice representing Jews and cats representing Nazis, Maus narrates the experiences of Vladek Spigelman, Art’s father, describing his ordeals as a Holocaust survivor with other people, our ancestors who live with the history of such injustice.

The narratives describes the death of Art’s aunt Tosha, his brother Richieu and his cousins. The interview is included word-for-word in the book.

With Maus, the author exposes students to a historical example of religious intolerance through a personal narrative of a Holocaust survivor. The theme serves as a meditation on the effects of a major historical event, the traumatic event of the Holocaust.

Maus is a unique work of art, it won the Pulitzer prize, the first comic book to earn such an honor.