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Sunday, April 15, 2012

My problem with Twilight.

I'm known among my friends as the one who is crazy about Harry Potter. It's truly my favorite book series of all time. However, there's also this image stuck to Harry Potter fans, that they all despise Twilight, and "Twihards" despise Harry Potter.

This stereotype is probably true in many cases. Then there are some who enjoy both series. Personally, I wouldn't stick myself under either.

When I first saw or heard something about Twilight being as good(or better) than Harry Potter, I disagreed (Let it be known here, that I HAVE read the Twilight series. All of it.). But more than that, I was confused. Why are they even comparing them? Yes, they are teen fantasies, but of completely different plots and standards. In my opinion, Harry Potter is in a totally different(and superior) league than Twilight.

Now that comment would spark a lot of conflict among certain company. But that's my stance on the topic. I also accept that Harry Potter isn't for everyone(although I would be happy if everyone tried), but on a ranking scale, Twilight doesn't stand a chance. But even then, it doesn't feel right to compare the two series. They are just too different.

Now, let me confess something. When I first read Twilight, I...(here it goes)....liked it. It was an okay read, and I got my usual week-long rush of enjoyment upon finishing the new book. But once the initial effects wore off, it didn't leave that much of an impression on me as a literary feat. I would be understanding when others admit to liking the series.

I've become a little more resentful of Twilight when they compared it to Harry Potter. I would now internally scoff when others claimed how amazing Twilight is. I was confused and angry for a while.

Then the movies come out, and it's insane. Girls freaking out about "Team Jacob" and "Team Edward". It just didn't sit well with me. Twilight was getting more attention than it deserved. Being made out to be more fantastic than it is. It became clear once I realized the most straight-forward way to explain how Twilight was viewed.

Twilight is overrated. It's not awful. It's just overrated. So if I meet someone who loves Twilight, they don't lose my respect just because they like the books. Now, once you say how much better it is than Harry Potter, then I'm done with you.

Goodnight.

2 comments:

  1. I totally agree with your post. They compare series like Harry Potter and Twilight when they aren't even similar in plot. Now, they are comapring it to The Hunger Games, which I really like, but again, isn't even close to the same plotwise. If people are going to compare hyped up series like these, they need to compare them to other books with the same general idea or feel.

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  2. I agree completely. I am still in the process of reading the Hunger Games series, so right now I'm sort of gushing about how awesome it is. However I'm never comfortable critiqueing a book until after I finish, and it's settled in for a while. I always like a book much more during the first time period immediately following finishing, so I prefer to wait a while longer before making a fair judjment. That being said, I may or may not bring in the Hunger Games perspective in the near or far future :)

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