Unless you have been living under a rock, you must have heard some of the hype about the Twilight Series, by Stephenie Meyer. There is talk of this series being “the next Harry Potter”, believe it or not. There are even midnight parties set to happen in just a few days time, at bookstores across the country, to celebrate the release of the fourth, and final, book in the series.

It’s not too surprising that there is a movie about the first book, Twilight, coming in December of this year. Type “Twilight” into YouTube, and you can watch trailers for the movie, and dozens of handmade fan videos, celebrating everything from the choice of cast, to the love between Edward and Bella, to just plain excitement about the series itself. Here are a few examples:

This is an official trailer:

Here is one of the less “OMG! OMG! OMG!” style videos of the cast:

And there are more videos than I can stand to look at that are lovely photos of Bella and Edward, looking all dreamy, while insipid music plays. You’re on your own searching those out on YouTube, because I find myself getting nauseous after viewing more than a couple of them. Most are sickly sweet, and overly emotional, and all that is teenage passion and idealism. Bleah!

From all of this, you can gather that the Twilight Series is, in fact, a huge deal right now. But is this book any good? I decided to jump in with both feet, read the book myself, and see if the writing lived up to the hype. Here are my discoveries, insights, and opinions about this super popular book.

In short, Twilight is a romance/horror/suspense book that can be found in the “Teen”, or “Young Adult” section of bookstores everywhere. Many books aimed at teens are a mixture of genres, and this one is no exception. I knew before I picked up the book that somewhere, somehow, there would be vampires involved, and my hope was that this fact alone would make the book interesting enough for me to read the whole thing, even if I hated it. I’m thirty-five, and I wasn’t at all sure I would be able to relate to a Teen “Romance” book. I don’t even read much regular Romance, and when I do, I’m usually greatly disappointed. It’s just not my thing at all.

When I first picked it up, I didn’t know of anyone who was reading this book who wasn’t (A) a teenager, or (B) the parent of a teenager, who got talked into reading it because their teenager loved the book so much, or (C) someone who works with or teaches teens. I am none of the above. Who else was reading Twilight? People who work at bookstores. I now had a handy excuse, in case the book sucked. “Oh, this? Yeah, I have to read it, for work.”

Bella is a seventeen year old girl, who moves from living with her mom, (someplace sunny, I forget exactly where. California?) to living with her dad in… Washington, I believe, where it’s cold and rainy, and sometimes snowy, much to Bella’s disapointment. Her dad, Charlie, is the police chief in the small town of Forks, where everyone knows everyone else. Bella becomes something like a minor celebrity when she starts her new school, and lots of boys have obvious crushes on her, but Bella isn’t the least bit interested.

Sitting away from all the other students in the lunch room are a small group of beautiful people. Amazingly, they are not the popular crowd. Quite the opposite, actually. These are the adopted children of the doctor in town, and most of the teens see them as just plain strange, and want nothing to do with them. Among this group is Edward, a boy with a beautiful face, golden eyes, and a crooked smile. Bella becomes instantly fascinated with him.

Then, of course, is the whole “does he like me, or does he hate me, or what?” scenario, as Edward runs hot and cold. Some days he glares at her, and refuses to talk to her, and other days he smiles and is friendly. But mostly, Edward is a mystery, and what could be more intriguing than that? He doesn’t seem to eat anything. He is absent from school on sunny days. His hands are always cold. Even readers who have managed to shield themselves from all information about this series will figure out pretty quickly that Edward, (and his “siblings”) are vampires. It takes Bella a pretty long time to piece it all together, however.

Bella has a friend that she knew before she moved to Forks, who goes to a different school. Jacob lives with his father, Billy, on the nearby Native American Reservation. Bella’s dad and Jacob’s dad have been friends forever, and Jacob and Bella have spent lots of time hanging out when they were little kids. For this book, Jacob is mostly a minor character, who relays some tribal stories that he only half believes in. (Jacob doesn’t really come into the story until the second book in the series). Later on, this particular conversation between Bella and Jacob turns out to hold more meaning than it seemed.

Ok.. so… eventually, Edward and Bella start talking. Then one day, he invites her to sit with him, just him, at lunch, and Bella does. The two quickly become enamored with each other, in the intense and amazingly fast way that high school aged people do. After Edward saves Bella’s life from a… let’s say “traffic accident”, Edward confirms that yes, he is a vampire, and Bella decides this does not scare her, which scares Edward. In a lot of ways, the emotions these two feel are exactly what most people feel when they date their first “real” boyfriend/ girlfriend. I was impressed how well Meyer captured the essence of what it is like to be that young.

The difference is that with these two young lovers, when Edward says it may be “too dangerous” for Bella to be around him, he’s not exaggerating. The scent of Bella’s blood intoxicates Edward, so much that he is terrified that he will lose control, and, well… kill her and drink her blood. Even Edward’s “sister”, Alice (who is a fascinating, quirky, pint sized vampire), notes how great Bella smells. Big foreshadowing, here, of danger to come.

Meyer has created the perfect boyfriend in Edward. Here is an impossibly beautiful boy, who only has eyes for one girl, and is hopelessly devoted. He is a knight in shining armor, who actually can and will save your life from certain doom. He is patient, and a perfect gentleman, who never goes farther than kissing with closed lips (for fear of accidently turning Bella into a vampire). By the end of the book, I wanted an Edward. Teenage girls everywhere will just adore him, of this I am certain.

The main problem these two star crossed lovers have is that Edward is a vampire, (and so is the rest of his family), and Bella is not. This is a new twist on dating “the boy from the wrong side of the tracks”. Humans are not allowed to know that vampires exist, and this forces Bella to keep a big, fat, secret from her parents, her school friends, and her good friend, Jacob. Bella wants to become a vampire herself, but Edward refuses to allow this. Tension, tension, dramarama… but in a good way.

One quick note about the vampires in this book. Yes, they drink blood. But, it doesn’t have to be human blood. They are faster than humans, and some of them have special powers, not shared by all vampires. Religion and crosses are not really a factor in this book. What about the sun? Meyer has created the absolute best interpretation of the reason why vampires stay out of the sun that I have ever seen. No other book includes this particular factor. You will just have to read it to see what happens. (Or, wait until December when the movie is supposed to come out).

The book ends with a chase scene. Bella is in danger, from vampires, but not Edward or his family. I found myself taking a few extra minutes of break time at work, and staying up for just one more chapter before I went to sleep at night, to find out just how this all got resolved. Even if you simply cannot stand anything resembling a romance novel, you will love the ending. Tons of action, very suspenseful, and all the loose ends are tied up when the book closes.

So, to my great surprise, I found that I enjoyed Twilight much more than I ever though possible. Meyer is a fantastic writer. I could see the scenes she described, and the faces of her diverse characters, without feeling slowed down by too much description. She captures exactly what it is to be teenage, and involved with a first love, and also the “no, you can’t date that boy, (and now you want him more)” concept. Very real characters, and a plot where the reader is mostly blind-sided by what comes next.

I rushed to get my hands on the second book in the series, New Moon, to find out what happened after the first book was over. But, that’s a review for another day.

This may not be “the next Harry Potter”, because I don’t see the Twilight Series appealing to young children like the Harry Potter books do. However, I do feel that a ten year old could read Twilight without too many problems. There is no sexuality, other than some sweet and tame kisses. There is some violence, but no worse than some of what happens in the later books in the Harry Potter Series. I will be interested to see how long the books stay popular, after the movie comes out, and after we all read the fourth book, and find out the ending.

If you are like me, you read the book In the Woods, also by Tana French, and loved it. Maybe, like me, you got to the end of that book, read the last page, closed the book, and then looked around for more of French’s writing. If so, then here is your wish come true. The Likeness is the next book in what I hope is just the beginning of a series. It does stand alone really well. You don’t absolutely have to read In the Woods before you pick up The Likeness, but, readers who skip the first one will miss out on some background information.

The main character in this book is Cassie Maddox, who was one of the detectives in the last book, working on Operation Vestal, with her partner, Ryan. Now, it’s six months later, and Cassie has left the Murder Squad, to work in a department that mostly handles domestic disturbances. She and Sam, (who also worked on Operation Vestal), are very clearly a couple, and all seems to be going well. Except, of course, that Maddox is rather bored working with domestic disturbances, and her head is still full of thoughts about what happened in the last book.

Out of the blue, a murder happens, and Cassie is called to view the body, despite the fact that she isn’t working murder cases any longer. A young woman, (who might be anywhere from twenty three, to twenty six or so), has been found in an abandoned home, in the middle of nowhere. It’s clear the woman has been stabbed, and it is also obvious that someone moved the body, and took the time to lay her out, and completely disturbed the crime scene in the process.

There are two remarkable things about this dead woman. One, she is the “spitting image” of Cassie. It’s freaky how much they look alike, despite the fact that this woman is not a relative of Cassie. The other bizarre coincidence is that the ID the woman was carrying identifies her as “Alexandra Madison”, the same name Cassie used back when she was working undercover. The name Cassie was using when she, herself, got stabbed.

Much debate goes on from here. Cassie’s boss, Frank, (who got her into working undercover in the first place), wants Cassie to go back undercover, as “Lexie”, to find who the killer is. What could be more perfect, than to have the double of the murder victim return to the crime? And Cassie and “Lexie” are darn near identical. Sam, of course, is terrified that Cassie will get hurt, or even, killed, and is set against her going undercover again. Cassie takes a lot of time, weighing the odds, fighting with both Frank and Sam about her options. But, as a reader, it’s no surprise that she eventually gives in to her own curiosity, and becomes “Lexie”.

There are few suspects in this case. The best suspects are the four college students who Lexie lived with. Daniel is calm, controlled, and the one who inherited the house they all live in. Abby is cute, and brilliant. Justin is sweet, and nervous, and gentle. And Rafe is the life of the party, and stunningly handsome. The five of them, (including Lexie), are tighter than most friendships ever become. They are intimate in ways that even most families are not. They all spend nearly every waking moment together, in shared activities. They all lean their heads on each other’s shoulders, and prop their feet in each other’s laps. They even share drinking glasses. There is no television in the house, and they all read books together, or play cards, or fix up the house. They seem incredibly content, and mostly ignore the rest of the college, (and the town it resides in), who strongly dislike the odd quintet.

French has made each member of this little family absolutely fascinating. I found myself thinking about this group when I was at work, or driving, or otherwise not able to read the rest of the book. What would they be doing, right now, if they were real? How much do they really know about Lexie’s death? What would make them do that, when they seem so happy together? I wondered what it would be like to be a part of that idyllic, self-created, family unit. It seemed peaceful. I wanted to go explore the huge house with them, and see what treasures could be uncovered. One of the marks of a truly great book, in my opinion, is if I find myself thinking about “the world” inside the book long after I stop reading. This book captured more of my attention than most books do, and, with how much I read, that is no easy feat to accomplish.

Cassie starts off her undercover work simply hoping that no one finds out that she isn’t really “Lexie”. Slowly, and without her even realizing it, Cassie finds herself actually becoming Lexie. She craves the serenity, the security, and the stability the small group brings to each other. She also starts wondering about just who “Lexie” really was, and what she would want Cassie to do. Was Lexie trying to tell her something? Could she give Lexie some peace, if she finds out what she wants? Before she knows it, Cassie has lost her objectivity on this case, which Frank is more than happy to point out. But, Cassie doesn’t think so, and continues on. Things become more complex from here, both within the case, and outside it. Lines are crossed, motives are muddied. The books builds up to a superbly intense ending, that leaves the reader wondering, right up until the last second, what will happen next. By the end, most questions are answered, and the reader gets a little of the “what happened next?” that I know I was wondering about. I look forward to more books by Tana French.