Book Series in Review: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Another goal accomplished! Though it may not be one of the most significant on my list, I'm glad to have finished the recently popular book series by Stephenie Meyer. Several people I know had read the books recently and were quite enthusiastic about them, so naturally I was curious. I decided to read them to figure out what all the fuss was about, and also so I could understand what they were all talking about.
Now before I offer my full critique, I want to say that I think Ms. Meyer's was very smart in creating the story she did. It is an addicting story, and it is written in such a way to target teen girls especially, which makes it an easy money-maker. I have yet to see the first movie, but I have already seen the results from creating a movie from the first book in the series. Young Women tend to make very loyal fans when heroes like Edward Cullen are involved.
The first three books were very full of the teen romance, which gets a little old after so many chapters. I understand that this was targeted at teens, but I felt that the books could have been better if there was less syrupy romance stuff and more mythical creatures stuff. This was my first time reading a series involving werewolves and vampires, and I really liked the creativity Ms. Meyer used to take something that seems so overdone and turned it into something new. She explains away all of the reader's pre-conceived ideas about vampires and takes it in a new direction. There seems to be a lot of controversy over the final book in the series (Breaking Dawn) as it is written differently and almost doesn't seem to fit with the previous books. However, if I had a favorite it would definitely be the last book. I think the reason for this is that it had less of the teen romance, and had more about the vampires and the 'gifts' different ones had. That was more interesting to me.
For those who might not have read the series yet, or who have teens who want to read them, I feel I need to offer a short word of advice. (This is especially directed towards my conservative christian home-school friends who read my blog.) Even though the series is targeted at the teen audience, and the heroine's love is somewhat immature I would not recommend teens (girls especially) under the age of 17 to read this. Having read the series, if I had a teenage daughter I personally wouldn't feel comfortable letting her read it. There is nothing explicit, but a lot of the romantic parts are very sensual.
Finally - I have to give Stephenie Meyer some real props for doing my home state so much credit. Some of her descriptions really made me miss home, all the green and the water and the mountains.