Twilight

I have a friend who constantly makes fun of any movie, television show, book, song, situation, etc. that depicts two people longing for each other with some sort of obstacle in the way. He calls this phenomenon, "They wanna be in love, but they can't be love."

For instance, if I wanted to see a particular romantic comedy, he might say, "Let me guess--'They wanna be in love, but they can't be in love'". (The part in quotation marks is usually said in a high voice with emphasis on the word "love".) This is a constant source of teasing and again, it usually voiced in reference to any movie I like, book I am reading, or television show I enjoy. My husband has now picked it up as well and they take turns bringing up the "wanna be in love" issue.

Recently, I started reading a book (more on that later) and after describing the basic storyline to my husband, he said, "So, what you're saying is, they wanna be in love, but they can't be in love." I laughed. Then, I started to give it some thought. I thought about some of the greatest love stories of all time. Romeo and Juliet. West Side Story. Beauty and the Beast. Aida. Jim and Pam on "The Office". They all have that underlying common factor that "They want to be in love, but they can't be in love." They had obstacles.

Now, back to this book I am reading...

I watch/listen to Good Morning America when I get ready for work every day. A few weeks ago, there was an author on the show by the name of Stephenie Meyer. What struck me most was the fact that she had fans who came to GMA just to see her. It made me stop and pay attention for a moment. She was promoting her latest book, Eclipse. The fans were excited. I heard something mentioned about vampires. What stuck most in my head, was the fact that the story of these characters came to her in a dream. I thought that was fascinating.

Later, I found myself in Target and curiously walked into the book section. Sure enough, there was the book. I picked up the first book in the series, "Twilight". I flipped it over and read the back. This is what I read:

"About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him--and I didn't know dominant that part might be--that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him."

I was hooked. I did not care that this was a book was in the "young adult" section. (I know lots of adults who read Harry Potter, so I refuse to feel guilty about this.) This truly was a classic case of "They wanna be in love, but they can't be in love."

376 pages later, I am almost finished with the book. I can't put it down. The story affects me physically. While reading it on a plane, I found my heart racing. The attraction between the main characters is so strong and so well written that I am just completely drawn in. Let me be clear, these characters have barely had any physical contact whatsoever thus far (for obvious reasons--she is human and he is a vampire) but the passion between them is unmistakable. Before this, I had no real interest in reading a book that involved a vampire, but this is different. This vampire is a good vampire. He is polite and sweet--but also a little dangerous (again--for obvious reasons). He and the girl in the lead female role are both just so gosh darn likable, and such interesting characters, that you can't help but want to see them together.

I went to Stephenie Meyer's website and I saw that this story is being optioned for a movie. I can tell you now that I will be there opening weekend and I don't even know yet how this story ends. And when that day comes, I am sure my friend will complain that we are dragging him to a movie where "they wanna be in love but they can't be in love."

Should you choose to read Twilight, you won't be sorry. It is only $8.09 right now at Target and I can tell you that I have already gotten much more than $8.09 of enjoyment out of this book. (Click the link on the title to see some of the reviews on Amazon).

Okay I have to go--I have some reading to do!