The Differing Opinions on Stephenie Meyer

As Stephenie Meyer becomes a well-known author and more and more people read her books, vastly different opinions are coming to light. There are those people who obsess over her Twilight characters, bask in her brilliant writing style, and valiantly defend her books from the people who oppose them. On the opposite side of the spectrum, the people who don't like Meyer deem her characters shoddy, her writing quality poor, and fearlessly declare they don't like her or her books.

So who has the correct opinion? Who can be declared the winner of this continuing feud? Where is the middle ground?

As a bookworm, I've read countless books. I have read classics, torn through the youth and adult books from this age, and even attempted a few biographies and nonfiction books. I am not limited to what I read, but I do have my favorites, of course, just like everybody else has.

During my youth, I crazed over Harry Potter and waited impatiently for the fifth book - and then the others - to come out. When the movies started making, I didn't shun them but rather embraced them hoping that more people would be inspired to read. As it happened, one of my friends started to read because of J. K. Rowling and the movies were just an added benefit - a reward in a way for knowing exactly what was going on. Granted, of course, once a book earns a movie version, people obsess over the people who play the characters instead of the characters themselves. (For example, Draco Malfoy no longer comes off as the school bully/jerk but as the "smexy" misunderstood guy. Truly, it is Tom Felton that is liked.) Fanfics come about - some of them really good, but some of them so pitiful that you have to laugh.

As a booklover, I appreciate every book for what it offers. The Harry Potter series takes people away from reality and places them in a magical world that revolves around the Boy Who Lived - the Chosen One, Harry Potter - and his opposer Voldemort, or You-Know-Who for those who are too scared to say his self-given name. These seven books teach you to love, to hope, to never give up even when things don't seem in your favor. Isn't that what books are supposed to do? To entertain and give a message? If so, Stephenie Meyer has done no wrong. She has her own message - one of love against all odds - and it's not so different from the others. So why do people criticize her so? Why is Meyer like God to some?

The major complaint I have seen for the Twilight series is the main character Isabella "Bella" Swan. The people who are against Twilight deem Bella a "damsel in distress" and Meyer an anti-feminist for it. The faults against Bella I've seen/heard are as follows: her mature speech patterns, her clumsiness, her inability to make decisions, and her extreme devotion to Edward.

Would you rather Bella be a ditz? Would you rather the books be about a vampire who just falls for a girl because her blood smells nice? Her clumsiness, I'll admit, is a bit pathetic and seemingly damsel is distressy, but don't you know at least one person who will fall over flat sidewalk? Some people were just programmed to be clumsy and Meyer giving that quality to Bella was probably an attempt to make her character seem more human, more relatable to the readers. Bella's devotion to Edward is much like his to her. Admittedly, the reader is not exactly shown his attachment because the books are written in first person from Bella's view. Because of this, the audience is given the story in a slightly obscure, biased way.

The greatness of the books is credited to the males it seems and maybe that's why the whole series comes off as anti-feminist - and not just because of Bella cooking dinner for Charlie and doing her own laundry. Some people obsess over Edward, others over Emmett or Jasper because, get this, most of the readers are female. And because the guys are given such a great light and Bella comes off so shallow for falling for the sparkly vampire, it seems to be much worse than it actually is.

I am neither totally for or opposed toward Twilight. I appreciate it for being a pretty interesting read but I will not spend all my life obsessing over it. True, I lean toward liking it, but I see some faults in Bella Swan as well - it's what makes her human. I really do like the fact that people are reading though. Perhaps Stephenie Meyer has inspired people to read more, and isn't that really what's important? that people are taking the time in this high-tech world for books? No, I don't deplore Meyer; I rather respect her.

So I have to ask where are the other people who feel like me? I am the middle ground. Who else am I not seeing standing around me?