Review: Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Book Review and Content, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Eclipse
Stephanie Meyer
Little, Brown & Company
Published August 7, 2007

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Once again Bella Swan’s life is in danger, seemingly because of her association with the Cullen family. Strange events unfold in nearby Seattle– a mass of unsolved murders. Could there be “newborn” vampires on the loose?

As rumor of the “newborn” vampires spreads, a new rumor reaches the Cullen clan. The powerful Volturi, to whom Bella has promised to shed her mortality and become a vampire, appear to be planning a visit to the town of Forks. As Bella seeks to get her promise met, she discovers she must make a difficult choice. If she becomes a vampire, she loses Jacob, her best friend. If she remains mortal, Edward will watch her grow old and die.

I liked that this book expanded some of the ideas about the vampire lore and hierarchy beyond the Cullen family. Some of the same plot constructions hold up this story that formed the earlier books in the series. Again we see Bella waiting for rescue and Edward treating her as though she’s helpless. I’m just not a huge fan of that model. I want to see more spine from her at the very least. See below for content information.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
There was a little bit more swearing in this novel compared to the first. Light bordering moderate.

Sexual Content
Still very little physical sexual contact at all. Huge amounts of romantic tension between them, though. Bella and Edward’s desire for each other is very obvious.

Spiritual Content
Largely the same as Twilight and New Moon. The Edward Cullen and his family are “good” vampires who’ve chosen only to feed on animals, not humans. They are at odds with the “bad” vampires who consider themselves superior to the human race and still kill/bite people. Werewolves emerge to protect the people of Forks, WA.

Violent Content
The Volturi are as ruthless as ever, destroying one vampire in the midst of a conflict. The werewolf clan takes on a vampire.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

Book Review and Content, Paranormal, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

New Moon
Stephanie Meyer
Little, Brown & Company
Published September 6, 2006

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The sequel to Twilight, New Moon picks up a few months after its predecessor. It’s Bella’s birthday, and despite her wishes that there be no fuss, the Cullen family make quite an occasion of it. But the party spawns a sequence of events that shatters Bella’s world. She finds herself alone, feeling as if a gaping hole exists through the center of her very being. As she struggles to cope, and to carve out some semblance of life around the edges of her wound, she at last finds a friend. But when battle lines are drawn again, she finds herself torn between mortal enemies, and she must choose between them.

Can I be brutally honest? I never understood Team Jacob. Seriously. He’s pushy and impatient, and maybe you can argue that he knows Bella better because they’ve got this long history, but I don’t get the sense that he values her needs above his own. I don’t know. Maybe I’m being too harsh.

When I read the part of the book in which Bella grieves for a loss, I remember feeling like I’d never read anything that captured that emptiness so well before. I remember thinking about a loss I’d experienced and feeling like, yes, this is how this feels. Which counts as a triumph for any writer, I think, to be able to capture something so vividly.

New Moon has a repeat of the whole rescue-Bella situation, and while in the first book, everything was new, it’s starting now to feel a little redundant. See below for content information.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
There was a little bit more swearing in this novel compared to the first. Light bordering moderate.

Sexual Content
Still very little physical sexual contact at all. Huge amounts of romantic tension between them, though. Bella and Edward’s desire for each other is very obvious.

Spiritual Content
Largely the same as Twilight. The hero and his family are “good” vampires who’ve chosen only to feed on animals, not humans. They are at odds with the “bad” vampires who consider themselves superior to the human race and still kill/bite people. In New Moon, werewolves also emerge. In the story their abilities are used to protect the people of Forks, WA.

Violent Content
A powerful vampire clan brings a victim in to feast on. Another plot appears to be underway to kill Bella.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Paranormal, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

Twilight
Stephanie Meyer
Little, Brown & Company
Published October 5, 2005

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When Bella reluctantly moves to the dark and dreary city of Forks, Washington to live with her father, she is not expecting much out of life. A few precious days of sunshine at most. But fate brings something to her that’s far more dear and far more deadly. At first Edward Cullen seems repulsed by her presence– and for no reason at all. Gradually he softens toward her, but still remains aloof though alluring. But once Bella learns his secret, and the war it causes inside him, she begins to understand. He is a vampire, and she has already fallen in love with him.

I liked the experience of reading Twilight. I liked the romantic tension and the whole tortured soul (wait, does he have a soul????) element of Edward’s character, but there were definitely some things that didn’t work for me. He’s protective to the point of almost stalking. She’s not bothered, because she wants him with her all the time, in fact, she’s more bothered when he’s absent. They have this sort of whirlwind obsession thing happening.

On the whole, the romance is a powerful force in the story, so I can see why it’s wildly popular. It’s one of those books you’re going to love or hate. See below for content information.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Sexual Content
While there is a great deal of romantic tension between Edward and Bella, there is almost no physical romance between them. He does often stay nearby at night and watch over her, but she is not aware of his presence at first, and even when she is, their contact remains very limited.

Spiritual Content
Edward and his family are all vampires who have committed not to bite (and therefore infect or kill) humans. They feed only on animals. They are immortal beings, with some question as to whether or not they still possess a soul. Another group of vampires still choosing to attack humans are portrayed as the villains in the story.

Violence
A battle occurs between the “good” and “bad” vampires. One threatens and attempts to kill Bella, and she’s severely injured.

Drug Content
None

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Vampires, Ghosts, Witches, and Teen Fiction

Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

If you are a parent of a teen and have escaped the Twilight craze and the Harry Potter boom, you are probably in the minority. This week, and for many weeks past, vampires dominate the young adult bestseller lists, as Harry Potter did before them. Also not long ago, the Newberry Award was given to Neil Gaiman for his middle grade novel The Graveyard Book, a story about a young boy on the run from a killer, raised by ghosts and other beings in a graveyard. Is this bad news for Believers?

Some say no. After all, we read the Narnia chronicles, which have many connections to Greek mythology. Tolkein’s Gandalf is a wizard. Is that so different from Rowling’s characters?

To others, Rowling and Lewis aren’t even in the same universe. C. S. Lewis wrote a story using mythology to retell the sacrifice of Christ. That’s a difficult goal to compete with.

But what about the way these stories present these spiritual things as benevolent? A vampire hero. Foster ghost-parents. Are these admirable things from a spiritual perspective? Should we as Christian parents encourage our children to participate in literature that presents these characters as admirable and good?

Would we be just as eager to pass a book about a really good psychic to our kids as we are books about werewolves and vampires who protect people, or is that comparing apples to oranges?

Weigh in on the (anonymous) poll below and check back this week for reviews on the Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga and Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book.

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Go Ask Alice (Anonymous)

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , ,

Go Ask Alice
Anonymous
Simon Pulse
First published in 1971

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Go Ask Alice is a haunting story of a young girl’s descent into drug addiction and her desperate attempt to break free again. Her journal entries detail the highs and lows she experiences as she falls deeper under the spell her addiction to LSD. Through Alice’s eyes the reader sees her family’s desperate struggle to reach her, and the seductive power of the chemicals that pull her away from them.

First printed in 1971, Go Ask Alice still remains one of the most popular works about teen drug addiction.

It’s definitely a dated tale, but I think one of the reasons it survives is how haunting the story is. Something about it reminded me a little bit of That Was Then, This is Now by S. E. Hinton.

Did you know?
Those of you Go Ask Alice buffs… Did you know that though Alice is generally accepted as the unclaimed diary of a teen-aged girl wrestling with drug addiction, it is in fact a novel! As in… fiction. Yep. Check out the info posted on the Snopes Urban Legend web site. Posing as a diary gave the story a huge amount of credibility, but nope. It’s all made up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Heavy

Sexual Content
With the entrance of drugs into Alice’s world follows sex. Her experiences are reflected back upon via her diary entries. The references are not drawn out, but still briefly state what occurred. Some characters also refer to homosexual experiences.

Spiritual Content
None

Violence
While there isn’t really any violence as a part of the story, some of the hallucinations Alice experiences are vivid and really creepy.

Drug Content
This is a book about drug addiction, so there are several scenes that detail Alice’s drug abuse. The book also shows the consequences of drug addiction– her life spirals out of control, she winds up in a sanitarium, has physical side effects from detox and long term abuse.

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Review: Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Poetry, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Crank
Ellen Hopkins
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published October 1, 2004

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About Crank

In CRANK, Ellen Hopkins chronicles the turbulent and often disturbing relationship between Kristina, a character based on her own daughter, and the “monster,” the highly addictive drug crystal meth, or “crank.” Kristina is introduced to the drug while visiting her largely absent and ne’er-do-well father. While under the influence of the monster, Kristina discovers her sexy alter-ego, Bree: “there is no perfect daughter, / no gifted high school junior, / no Kristina Georgia Snow. / There is only Bree.” Bree will do all the things good girl Kristina won’t, including attracting the attention of dangerous boys who can provide her with a steady flow of crank.

My Review

CRANK is the story of Kristina Snow and the summer that changes her life, when she goes to visit her father and meets the “monster”, Crystal Meth. Ellen Hopkins captures the turmoil and grip of addiction in a raw, authentic manner as she tells the story of a girl caught in the same kind of addiction her own daughter has battled.

The entire story is told in verse. Each poem captures the story in vivid detail. They flow from scene to scene very smoothly, capturing the raw emotion of the heroine– her desperation, heartache– and the downward spiral of her addiction to Meth. What a really powerful read.

This is the first novel in verse that I’ve ever read. I think the thing that stands out to me is how starkly each scene is portrayed, even though it’s told in shorter lines of poetry rather than paragraphs of prose. It’s pretty amazing to me how Ellen Hopkins paints such vivid pictures with her words and draws us into the stories of people we might overlook or judge in real life.

Update 12/5/2022: If you liked WRECKED by Heather Henson, add CRANK to your reading list.

Content Notes

Content warning for drug use and rape.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme word choice, moderate frequency.

Sexual Content
Kristina has some sexual experiences in the story. In one scene, her boyfriend rapes her. Both scenes are short and don’t really give a whole “play by play” account, but leave the reader with no doubt of what has occurred.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violence
A boyfriend rapes Kristina. She licks blood from her arm in one scene.

Drug Content
Kristina experiments with meth and other drugs and wrestles with addiction throughout the story. Several scenes depict her using drugs.

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